Ernest Charles Wallcousins ( né Cousins) (21 July 1882 "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVC5-K4RW : 4 September 2014), Charles Ernest Wall-Cousins, 1976; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Southend On Sea, Essex, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.–1976) was a British illustrator and later a famous portraitist and landscape painter. He illustrated royal occasions, was an official WWII artist, and painted British prime minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

's WWII victory portrait in 1945.

Work

Wallcousins illustrated ''Celtic Myth, Legend, Poetry, and Romance'', by Charles Squire (Gresham, 1905, 1920); and ''Myths of Babylonia and Assyria'', by Donald A. Mackenzie (Gresham, 1915). His style was

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

, Celtic romance but with strong, muscular fighting heroes as well as romantic women. His work shows dramatic structure, anatomic accuracy and sensuality, with a characteristic vault of space at the top of the design. His works include illustrations for '' Bibby's Annual'', 1921, including its front cover. He designed posters for the London Underground Group 1925, and became famed for illustrations of royal occasions. Papers in

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

show that he was the designer of the famous Keep Calm and Carry On poster. Wallcousins painted a famous portrait of Sir Winston Churchill from life, as the wartime Prime Minister celebrating the Allied victories in 1945. This was commissioned by Odhams Press for the “Victory Book” published in 1946. He also painted Sir

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...

, the conductor of

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

for over 50 years. Wallcousins's works can be found in museums including the Science Museum, London; and the Museum and Art Gallery,

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

References

External links

National Portrait Gallery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallcousins, Ernest Charles 1880s births 1976 deaths British illustrators