Eric Ravilious
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Eric William Ravilious (22 July 1903 – 2 September 1942) was a British painter, designer, book illustrator and wood-engraver. He grew up in
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, and is particularly known for his watercolours of the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
and other English landscapes, which examine English landscape and vernacular art with an off-kilter, modernist sensibility and clarity. He served as a war artist, and was the first British war artist to die on active service in World War II when the aircraft he was in was lost off Iceland.


Life

Ravilious was born on 22 July 1903 in
Churchfield Road Churchfield Road, Acton, London, Acton, runs north of and parallel to Acton High Street. At the eastern end is the level crossing of Acton Central railway station after which it becomes East Churchfield Road. The western end forms a junction of ...
,
Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, the son of Frank Ravilious and his wife Emma (''née'' Ford). While he was still a small child the family moved to
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
in Sussex, where his parents ran an antiques shop.Constable, 1982, p. 14. Ravilious was educated at Eastbourne Grammar School. In 1919 he won a scholarship to Eastbourne School of Art and in 1922 another to study at the Design School at the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
. There he became close friends with
Edward Bawden Edward Bawden, (10 March 1903 – 21 November 1989) was an English painter, illustrator and graphic artist, known for his prints, book covers, posters, and garden metalwork furniture. Bawden taught at the Royal College of Art, where he had be ...
(his 1930 painting of Bawden at work is in the collection of the college) and, from 1924, studied under Paul Nash. Nash, an enthusiast for
wood-engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and ...
, encouraged him in the technique, and was impressed enough by his work to propose him for membership of the
Society of Wood Engravers The Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) is a UK-based artists’ exhibiting society, formed in 1920, one of its founder-members being Eric Gill. It was originally restricted to artist-engravers printing with oil-based inks in a press, distinct from ...
in 1925, and helped him to get commissions.Constable, 1982, p. 17. In 1925 Ravilious received a travelling scholarship to Italy and visited
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
, and the hill towns of
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
.Constable, 1982, p. 16. Following this he began teaching part-time at the Eastbourne School of Art, and from 1930 taught (also part-time) at the Royal College of Art.Constable, 1982, p. 11. In the same year he married Eileen Lucy "Tirzah" Garwood, also an artist and engraver, whom he met at Eastbourne College of Art. They had three children: John Ravilious (1935–2014); the photographer
James Ravilious James Ravilious (22 August 1939 – 29 September 1999), was an English photographer, who specialised in recording the rural life of north Devon. Early life Ravilious was born in Eastbourne, the second son of the neo-romantic artist Eric Ravil ...
(1939–1999); and Anne Ullmann (1941– ), editor of books on her parents and their work. In 1928 Ravilious, Bawden and Charles Mahoney painted a series of murals at
Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the la ...
in south London on which they worked for a whole year. Their work was described by J. M. Richards as "sharp in detail, clean in colour, with an odd humour in their marionette-like figures" and "a striking departure from the conventions of mural painting at that time", but was destroyed by bombing in 1941. Between 1930 and 1932 Ravilious and Garwood lived in
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...
, west London, where there is a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
on the wall of their house at the corner of Upper Mall and Weltje Road. The building looks out onto
The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...
course, and the couple held bathing and boat-race parties. When Ravilious and Bawden graduated from the RCA they began exploring the Essex countryside in search of rural subjects to paint. Bawden rented Brick House in
Great Bardfield Great Bardfield is a large village in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located approximately northwest of the town of Braintree, and approximately southeast of Saffron Walden. The village came to national attention during the ...
as a base and when he married Charlotte Epton, his father bought it for him as a wedding present. Ravilious and Garwood lodged in Brick House with the Bawdens until 1934 when they purchased Bank House at
Castle Hedingham Castle Hedingham is a village in northern Essex, England, located four miles west of Halstead and 3 miles southeast of Great Yeldham in the Colne Valley on the ancient road from Colchester, Essex, to Cambridge. It developed around Hedingham ...
, which is now also marked by a blue plaque. There were eventually several other
Great Bardfield Artists {{Use British English, date=July 2015 The Great Bardfield Artists were a community of artists who lived in Great Bardfield, a village in north west Essex, England, during the middle years of the 20th century. The principal artists who lived t ...
. In 1933 Ravilious and his wife painted murals at the Midland Hotel in Morecambe.Constable, 1982, p. 22. In November 1933, Ravilious held his first solo exhibition at the Zwemmer Gallery in London, titled "''An Exhibition of Water-Colour Drawings''". Twenty of the 37 works displayed were sold. A 1933 painting of Ravilious and
Edward Bawden Edward Bawden, (10 March 1903 – 21 November 1989) was an English painter, illustrator and graphic artist, known for his prints, book covers, posters, and garden metalwork furniture. Bawden taught at the Royal College of Art, where he had be ...
, by
Michael Rothenstein William Michael Rothenstein (19 March 1908 – 6 July 1993) was a British printmaker, painter and art teacher. Early life Born in Hampstead, London, on 19 March 1908, he was the youngest of four children born to the celebrated artist, Sir W ...
, was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 2012.


Printmaking and illustration

Ravilious engraved more than 400 illustrations and drew over 40 lithographic designs for books and publications during his lifetime. His first commission, in 1926, was to illustrate a novel for Jonathan Cape. He went on to produce work both for large companies such as the Lanston Corporation and smaller, less commercial publishers, such as the
Golden Cockerel Press The Golden Cockerel Press was an English fine press operating between 1920 and 1961. History The private press made handmade limited editions of classic works. The type was hand-set and the books were printed on handmade paper, and sometimes ...
(for whom he illustrated an edition of ''
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
''), the
Curwen Press The Curwen Press was founded by the Reverend John Curwen in 1863 to publish sheet music for the "tonic sol-fa" system. The Press was based in Plaistow, Newham, east London, England, where Curwen was a pastor from 1844. The Curwen Press is bes ...
and the
Cresset Press The Cresset Press was a publishing company in London, England, active as an independent press from 1927 for 40 years, and initially specializing in "expensively illustrated limited editions of classical works, like Milton's '' Paradise Lost''" go ...
. His woodcut of two Victorian gentlemen playing cricket has appeared on the front cover of every edition of ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' since 1938. His style of wood-engraving was greatly influenced by that of
Thomas Bewick Thomas Bewick (c. 11 August 17538 November 1828) was an English wood-engraver and natural history author. Early in his career he took on all kinds of work such as engraving cutlery, making the wood blocks for advertisements, and illustrating ch ...
, whom both he and Bawden admired. Ravilious in turn influenced other wood engravers, such as Gwenda Morgan who also depicted scenes in the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
and was commissioned by the Golden Cockerel Press. In the mid-1930s Ravilious took up lithography, making a print of ''Newhaven Harbour'' for the "Contemporary Lithographs" scheme, and a set of full-page lithographs, mostly of shop interiors, for a book called ''High Street'', with text by J. M. Richards.Constable, 1982, p. 29. Following a trip in a submarine in the war he produced a series of lithographs on ''Submarines'', a set of 12, one of which was entitled ''Submarine Dream.''


Design

In February 1936, Ravilious held his second exhibition at the Zwemmer Gallery and again it was a success, with 28 out of the 36 paintings shown being sold. This exhibition also led to a commission from
Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...
for ceramic designs. His work for them included a commemorative mug to mark the
planned coronation of Edward VIII The abandoned coronation of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom was due to take place at Westminster Abbey on 12 May 1937. Preparations had already begun and souvenirs were on sale when Edward VIII decided to abdicate on 11 December 1936. ...
; the design was revised for the
Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. ...
. Other popular Ravilious designs included the ''Alphabet'' mug of 1937, and the china sets, ''Afternoon Tea'' (1938), ''Travel'' (1938), and ''Garden Implements'' (1939), plus the ''Boat Race Day'' cup in 1938. Production of Ravilious' designs continued into the 1950s, with the coronation mug design being posthumously reworked for the coronation of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
in 1953. He also undertook glass designs for Stuart Crystal in 1934, graphic advertisements for London Transport and furniture work for Dunbar Hay in 1936. Ravilious and Bawden were both active in the campaign by the
Artists' International Association The Artists' International Association (AIA) was an organisation founded in London in 1933 out of discussion among Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland, Edward Ardizzone, Peter Laszlo Peri'Artis ...
to support the Republican cause in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. Throughout 1938 and 1939, Ravilious spent time working in Wales, the south of France and at
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...
to prepare works for his third one-man show, which was held at the Arthur Tooth & Sons Gallery in 1939.


Watercolour

Apart from a brief experimentation with oils in 1930 – inspired by the works of
Johan Zoffany Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, includin ...
– Ravilious painted almost entirely in watercolour.Constable, 1982, p. 21. He was especially inspired by the landscape of the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
around Beddingham. He frequently returned to Furlongs, the cottage of
Peggy Angus Margaret MacGregor Angus (9 November 1904 – 28 October 1993) was a British painter, designer and teacher. Born in Chile, she spent her career in Britain. Biography Early life Angus was born in Chile on 9 November 1904, in a railway station, t ...
. He said that his time there "altered my whole outlook and way of painting, I think because the colour of the landscape was so lovely and the design so beautifully obvious ... that I simply had to abandon my tinted drawings". Some of his works, such as ''Tea at Furlongs'', were painted there.


Murals

Ravilious was commissioned to paint
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
s on the walls of the tea room on Victoria Pier at
Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...
in 1934. After the pier's partial collapse, these were thought unrecoverable, but, as of March 2018, one had been recovered in pieces and it was hoped that a second could also be saved, along with parts of another by
Mary Adshead Mary Adshead (15 February 1904 - 3 September 1995) was an English painter, muralist, illustrator and designer. Biography Adshead was born in Bloomsbury, London, the only child of Stanley Davenport Adshead, architect, watercolourist, and Profes ...
, from the pier's auditorium. Conwy Council's conservation officer, Huw Davies, said:


War artist

Prior to the outbreak of
WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Ravilious aligned himself with anti-fascist causes, including lending his work to the 1937 exhibition ''Artists Against Fascism''. He considered joining the military as a rifleman but was deterred by friends; he joined a Royal Observer Corps post in Hedingham at the outbreak of war. He was then accepted as a full-time salaried artist by the
War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...
in December 1939. He was given the rank of Honorary Captain in the
Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
and assigned to the Admiralty. In February 1940, he reported to the Royal Naval barracks at
Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
. While based there he painted ships at the dockside, barrage balloons at Sheerness and other coastal defences. ''Dangerous Work at Low Tide, 1940'' depicts bomb disposal experts approaching a German magnetic mine on
Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...
Sands. Two members of the team Ravilious painted were later awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
. On 24 May 1940 Ravilious sailed to Norway aboard HMS ''Highlander'' which was escorting HMS ''Glorious'' and the force being sent to recapture Narvik. ''Highlander'' returned to Scapa Flow before departing for Norway a second time on 31 May 1940. From the deck of ''Highlander'', Ravilious painted scenes of both HMS ''Ark Royal'' and HMS ''Glorious'' in action. ''HMS Glorious in the Arctic'' depicts
Hawker Hurricanes The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
and
Gloster Gladiators The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...
landing on the deck of ''Glorious'' as part of the evacuation of forces from Norway on 7/8 June. The following evening ''Glorious'' was sunk, with great loss of life. On returning from Norway, Ravilious was posted to
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
from where he painted submarine interiors at
Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...
and coastal defences at Newhaven. After Ravilious's third child was born in April 1941, the family moved out of Bank House to Ironbridge Farm near
Shalford, Essex Shalford is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. The village is approximately north from Braintree on the B1057 road. The parish includes the hamlets of Church End, Jasper's Green, and Shalford Green. The v ...
. The rent on this property was paid partly in cash and partly in paintings, which are among the few private works Ravilious completed during the war. In October 1941 Ravilious transferred to Scotland, having spent six months based at Dover. In Scotland, Ravilious first stayed with John Nash and his wife at their cottage on the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
and painted convoy subjects from the signal station on the
Isle of May The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about long and wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now no ...
. At the Royal Naval Air Station in Dundee, Ravilious drew, and sometimes flew in, the Supermarine Walrus seaplanes based there. In early 1942, Ravilious was posted to York but shortly afterwards was allowed to return home to Shalford when his wife was taken ill. There he worked on his York paintings and requested a posting to a nearby RAF base while Garwood recovered. He spent a short time at
RAF Debden Royal Air Force Debden or more simply RAF Debden is a former Royal Air Force station located southeast of Saffron Walden and approximately north of the village of Debden in North Essex, England History The airfield was opened in April 1937 ...
before moving to
RAF Sawbridgeworth Royal Air Force Sawbridgeworth or RAF Sawbridgeworth is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Harlow, Essex and east of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The airfield was used during the First World War as a night landing ground ...
in
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
. At Sawbridgeworth he began flying regularly in the
de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...
s based at the flying school there and would sketch other planes in flight from the rear cockpit of the plane.


Death

On 28 August 1942 Ravilious flew to
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
in Iceland and then travelled on to
RAF Kaldadarnes Royal Air Force Station Kaldadarnes or more simply RAF Kaldadarnes is a former Royal Air Force station, near the town of Selfoss, Iceland. Beginnings The station was built in 1940 by the British Army and used by the Royal Air Force from March ...
. The day he arrived there, 1 September, a
Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...
aircraft had failed to return from a patrol. The next morning three aircraft were despatched at dawn to search for the missing plane and Ravilious opted to join one of the crews. The aircraft he was on also failed to return and after four days of further searching, the RAF declared Ravilious and the four-man crew lost in action. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the
Chatham Naval Memorial Chatham Naval Memorial is a large obelisk situated in the town of Chatham, Kent, which is in the Medway Towns. The memorial is a feature of the Great Lines Heritage Park. The huge expanse of the Great Lines was in its own right a layer of defenc ...
. The log book belonging to the pilot of the fatal flight, in the possession of the pilot's daughter, with a hand-written note "failed to return", and an RAF official stamp "death presumed", was shown on the
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
programme ''
Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...
'' in March 2020. In 1946, Ravilious's widow married Anglo-Irish radio producer
Henry Swanzy Henry Swanzy (14 June 1915 – 19 March 2004) was an Anglo-Irish radio producer in Britain's BBC General Overseas Service who is best known for his role in promoting West Indian literature particularly through the programme ''Caribbean Voices'' ...
.


Collections and exhibitions

Works by Ravilious are held by the
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...
,
Fry Art Gallery The Fry Art Gallery is an art gallery in Saffron Walden, Essex. Recognised as an Accredited Museum by Arts Council England, it displays work by artists of national significance who lived or worked in North West Essex during the twentieth cent ...
, The Faringdon Collection at Buscot Park, The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art,
The Priseman Seabrook Collection The Priseman Seabrook Collection is a British-based private collection founded by the artist Robert Priseman and his wife Ally Seabrook. It is composed of three distinct categories: 21st Century British Painting, 20th and 21st Century British Wor ...
, the
Wiltshire Museum The Wiltshire Museum, formerly known as Wiltshire Heritage Museum and Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is run by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natu ...
, the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
and the Imperial War Museum. The largest collection is held at the
Towner Gallery Towner Art Gallery is located in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. It hosts one of the most significant public art collections in the South of England and draws over 100,000 visitors a year. It was described by ITV News ...
in Eastbourne. In 2019 the British Museum displayed one Ravilious painting, an uncharacteristic painting of a house, unlike his usual style. A touring exhibition organised by the Victor Batte-Lay Trust named "Eric Ravilious 1903 – 1942" was held at
The Minories, Colchester The Minories is a Grade II listed building and gardens situated at the east end of High Street in Colchester, Essex, England, near Hollytrees, Gate House and Colchester Castle. It currently houses The Minories Galleries which are run by Colches ...
in 1972. The Minories held an exhibition on graphic art and book illustration in 2009, named "Graphic art and the art of illustration" which featured Ravilious. In April to August 2015 the
Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London, which opened to the public in 1817. It was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane using an innovative and influential method of illumination. Dulwich is the oldest pub ...
in London held what it called "the first major exhibition to survey" his watercolours, with more than 80 on display. In 2017, The Towner Gallery marked the 75th anniversary of Ravilious' death with ''Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship'', a exhibition that explored the relationships and working collaborations between Ravilious and a group of his friends and affiliates, including Paul Nash, John Nash,
Enid Marx Enid Crystal Dorothy Marx, RDI (20 October 1902 – 18 May 1998), was an English painter and designer, best known for her industrial textile designs for the London Transport Board and the Utility furniture Scheme. Marx was the first female eng ...
, Barnett Freedman,
Tirzah Garwood Eileen Lucy "Tirzah" Garwood (11 April 1908 – 27 March 1951) was a British artist and engraver, a member of the Great Bardfield Artists. The artist Eric Ravilious was her husband from 1930 until his death in 1942. Early life Garwood was b ...
,
Edward Bawden Edward Bawden, (10 March 1903 – 21 November 1989) was an English painter, illustrator and graphic artist, known for his prints, book covers, posters, and garden metalwork furniture. Bawden taught at the Royal College of Art, where he had be ...
,
Thomas Hennell Thomas Hennell (16 April 1903 – 1945) was a British artist and writer who specialised in illustrations and essays on the subject of the British countryside. He was an official war artist during the Second World War and was killed while ser ...
, Douglas Percy Bliss,
Peggy Angus Margaret MacGregor Angus (9 November 1904 – 28 October 1993) was a British painter, designer and teacher. Born in Chile, she spent her career in Britain. Biography Early life Angus was born in Chile on 9 November 1904, in a railway station, t ...
, Diana Low and Helen Binyon. In 2021, ''Mackerel Sky'', a painting by Ravilious that had been 'missing' for 82 years, was found and the new owner has lent it to the Hastings Contemporary art gallery for its Seaside Modern Exhibition. From September 2021 to January 2022, the
Wiltshire Museum The Wiltshire Museum, formerly known as Wiltshire Heritage Museum and Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is run by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natu ...
in
Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...
held an exhibition titled ''Eric Ravilious: Downland Man'' which featured loans from a number of National Museums including the V&A, the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
and the Imperial War Museum as well paintings held in private collections. To mark its reopening as The Arc in February 2022 the former
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
Discovery Centre will stage ''Extraordinary Everyday: The Art & Design of Eric Ravilious''. The exhibition has been curated for the Hampshire Cultural Trust and will feature wood engravings, watercolours, books, ceramics and lithographs. In 2022 he was the subject of a film ''Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War'' written and directed by
Margy Kinmonth Margy Kinmonth is a British film director and producer. Covering a wide range of genres, her award-winning films include feature documentaries '' Revolution: New Art for a New World'', '' Hermitage Revealed'', '' Royal Paintbox'' with King Charles ...
.


References


Sources

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Further reading

* James Russell, ''Ravilious: Wood Engravings'' (edited by Tim Mainstone), Mainstone Press, Norwich (2019); * Andy Friend, ''Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship'' (2017). * Jeremy Greenwood, ''Ravilious Engravings'' (2008. Wood Lea Press) atalogue raisonnee*
Alan Powers Alan Powers (born 1955) is a British teacher, researcher and writer on twentieth-century architecture and design. Early life Powers was raised on the borders of Hampstead Heath and in Suffolk. His father Michael was an architect member of the ...
, James Russell, ''Eric Ravilious: the Story of High Street'' (2008) *
Alan Powers Alan Powers (born 1955) is a British teacher, researcher and writer on twentieth-century architecture and design. Early life Powers was raised on the borders of Hampstead Heath and in Suffolk. His father Michael was an architect member of the ...
, Oliver Green. ''Away We Go! Advertising London's Transport: Eric Ravilious &
Edward Bawden Edward Bawden, (10 March 1903 – 21 November 1989) was an English painter, illustrator and graphic artist, known for his prints, book covers, posters, and garden metalwork furniture. Bawden taught at the Royal College of Art, where he had be ...
'' (2006) *
Alan Powers Alan Powers (born 1955) is a British teacher, researcher and writer on twentieth-century architecture and design. Early life Powers was raised on the borders of Hampstead Heath and in Suffolk. His father Michael was an architect member of the ...
, ''Eric Ravilious: Imagined Realities'' (2004) * Richard Morphet. ''Eric Ravilious in Context'' (2002) * ''Submarine dream: Lithographs and letters'' (1996) * Robert Harling. ''Ravilious and Wedgwood: The Complete Wedgwood Designs of Eric Ravilious'' (1995), * Helen Binyon.
Eric Ravilious. Memoir of an Artist
';
The Lutterworth Press The Lutterworth Press, one of the oldest independent British publishing houses, has traded since the late eighteenth century - initially as the Religious Tract Society (RTS). The Lutterworth imprint, named after the small English town of Lutte ...
2007, Cambridge; * R. Dalrymple. ''Ravilious and Wedgwood'' (1986. London) * ''Eric Ravilious, 1903–42: A Re-assessment of his Life and Work'' (exh. cat. by P. Andrew, Eastbourne Towner A.G. & Local History Museum) (1986) * Helen Binyon, ''Eric Ravilious: Memoir of an Artist'' (Frederic C. Beil, Publisher, New York, 1983) * Freda Constable and Sue Simon, ''The England of Eric Ravilious'' (1982) * J. M. Richards, ''The Wood Engravings of Eric Ravilious'' (1972) * Anne Ullmann (ed.) ''Ravilious at War: the complete work of Eric Ravilious, September 1939 – September 1942'', contributions from Barry and Saria Viney, Christopher Whittick and Simon Lawrence, foreword by Brian Sewell. Huddersfield, Fleece (2002) * James Russell, ''Ravilious in Pictures: Sussex and the Downs'' (edited by Tim Mainstone), Mainstone Press, Norwich (2009); * James Russell, ''Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings'' (edited by Tim Mainstone), Mainstone Press, Norwich (2010); * James Russell, ''Ravilious in Pictures: A Country Life'' (edited by Tim Mainstone), Mainstone Press, Norwich (2010); * James Russell, ''Ravilious in Pictures: A Travelling Artist'' (edited by Tim Mainstone), Mainstone Press, Norwich (2012); * James Russell, ''Ravilious: Submarine'' (edited by Tim Mainstone), Mainstone Press, Norwich (2013); * James Russell, ''Eric Ravilious Downland Man'', with a preface by David Dawson, Wiltshire Museum (2021), * Richard Knott, ''The Sketchbook War.'' The History Press, 2013.


External links

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Photograph of Ravilious


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravilious, Eric 1903 births 1942 deaths 20th-century British printmakers 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from London Royal Marines personnel killed in World War II British war artists English designers English engravers English illustrators English male painters English muralists English watercolourists English wood engravers People from Acton, London People from Eastbourne Royal Marines officers Royal Marines personnel of World War II World War II artists South Downs artists People of the Royal Observer Corps Military personnel from London 20th-century English male artists Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action Missing in action of World War II 20th-century engravers