Grave of Anthony Froshaug in Highgate Cemetery

Anthony Froshaug (1920–1984) was an English

typographer Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

, designer and teacher, born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to a Norwegian father and English mother. Influenced by ideas of European modernism, particularly the work of

Jan Tschichold Jan Tschichold (; born Johannes Tzschichhold; 2 April 1902 – 11 August 1974), also known as Iwan Tschichold or Ivan Tschichold, was a German calligrapher, typographer and book designer. He played a significant role in the development o ...

, Froshaug is considered by some to be the most convincing exponent of

modern typography Modern Typography is a 1920s principle that expresses a reaction against what its proponents perceived as a decadence of typography and design emerging from the late 19th century. This amalgam consists of the foundations and overall notions of Des ...

in Britain. Anthony Froshaug's archive is located at the

University of Brighton Design Archives The University of Brighton Design Archives centres on British and global design organisations of the twentieth century. It is located within the University of Brighton Grand Parade campus in the heart of Brighton and is an international research r ...

. A significant collection of Froshaug’s printed ephemera, representing his work between 1945 and 1965 is held at St Bride Library in London. This material originally formed the basis of a retrospective exhibition held at Watford College of Technology in 1965. St Bride Library also has a number of original letterpress formes relating to Froshaug’s work.

Education

Froshaug attended

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and studied book production and

wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image 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 prints using relatively l ...

at the Central School of Arts & Crafts from 1937 to 1939.

Career

Design and typography

On leaving the Central in 1939 he began to practice as a freelance graphic designer and typographer. As a typographer, he has been viewed as unusual in running his own small (un-private) press, including two periods of printing in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

(1949–52, 1954–7). He worked with Alan Kitching.

Teaching

Froshaug was a natural teacher: he taught typography, first at the Central School (1948–9, 1952–3), then at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm (1957–61), the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

in London (1961–4), Watford School of Art (1964–6); in 1970 he returned to teach (part-time) at the Central School, continuing there until illness forced him to stop. He later also taught at the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

Department of Art and Design from 1980–82. As both a practitioner and a teacher, Froshaug preferred an experimental workshop environment with opportunities for discussion, rather than more formal learning structures.Anthony Froshaug on th
Archives Hub
/ref> He is buried on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Froshaug, Anthony English typographers and type designers English graphic designers 1920 births 1984 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Schoolteachers from London People educated at Charterhouse School Academics of the London College of Communication Academics of the Royal College of Art English people of Norwegian descent Design educators Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design

Education

Career

Design and typography

Teaching

Further reading

References