Arthur Wragg (3 January 1903 – 17 August 1976) was a British illustrator.

Early life

He was born in

Eccles, Greater Manchester Eccles () is a market town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, west of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and west of Manchester, split by the M602 motorway and bordered by the Manchester Ship Canal to the south. The t ...

, and grew up in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, along with his sister Amy Wragg, born 1898. He was the son of George Arthur Wragg (a travelling salesman for Lively Polly) from Sheffield, Yorkshire, and Alice Smethurst Eckersley (a telegraphist) from

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, Lancashire (a member of the Williamson family of Salford). He trained at Sheffield School of Art before settling in London as a freelance commercial artist.

Career

In the 1920s he contributed mostly to women's magazines, but later branched out into book-jackets and work for left-wing newspapers such as ''

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

'' and ''

Peace News ''Peace News'' (''PN'') is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), and from 1990 to 2004 ...

'' (including cartoons) and illustrations for books and pamphlets about

Christian socialism Christian socialism is a Religious philosophy, religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

, pacifism and social justice. Wragg illustrated biblical texts in a politicised way, notably ''The Psalms for Modern Life'' (Selwyn & Blount 1933) which went through several reprints. The simplified block-style and dramatic chiaroscuro effects of these illustrations make them resemble woodcuts rather than pen and ink drawings (misleading some collectors into thinking the books were reissues of hand-printed original editions). His work reflected affinities with the visual-symbolic language of

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

art, although Wragg's agenda was more generalised. He blended social realities and symbols to convey deprivation, justice, conscience, and the persistence of spiritual values in the alienated urban-industrial environment. A friend and follower of pacifist preacher Canon Dick Sheppard, Wragg became a sponsor of the

Peace Pledge Union The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determine ...

and was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After imprisonment, he became an art-teacher in schools, returning to freelance work after the war. His personal style became more airy and more fantastical, and sometimes surreal. From 1953 until his death he produced illustrations for record covers for Argo record company. No catalogue of his work exists, but a biography ''Arthur Wragg: Twentieth-century Prophet and Jester'' (Sansom 2001) was published by the late Judith Brook, one of his students. He featured as the 'Artist of Note' in the long-running magazine ''The Artist'' (Vol XI No 5, July 1936).

Themes

His stark poster-like artwork often dealt with themes of social alienation and spiritual emptiness. All his work was done for publication, rather than in 'fine art' media such as paintings or print series. As a result, he is neglected in comparison with contemporaries such as

Graham Sutherland Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmakin ...

and John Piper. Wragg's choice of medium was an ideological one. He was a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

and wanted his art to speak directly to common people rather than to art-lovers. His vivid, polemical style had considerable influence on other popular forms in the 1940s and 1950s, such as government information posters and advertising.

Partial list of books

*The Psalms for Modern Life (Selwyn & Blount 1933) *Jesus Wept (Selwyn & Blount 1935) *Holt - When I was a Prisoner (Miles 1935) * Darling, William - Down But Not Out (George Allen & Unwin 1935) *Szekely - Cosmos, Man and Society (Daniel 1936) *

Walter Greenwood Walter Greenwood (17 December 1903 – 13 September 1974) was an English novelist, best known for the socially influential novel '' Love on the Dole'' (1933). Early life Greenwood was born at 56 Ellor Street, his father's house and hairdr ...

- The Cleft Stick (Selwyn & Blount 1937) *Thy Kingdom Come (Selwyn & Blount 1939) *Seven Words (Heinemann 1939) *Alice through the paper-mill: In Respectful Criticism of the Paper Control and Kindred Matters relating to the Present State of the Trade. A Plea for an Equitable System of Planning whereby to ensure a Measure of Efficiency and a Degree of Order for All Concerned.Alt URL
/ref> *The Lord's Prayer in Black and White (Cape 1946) *Wilde - The Ballad of Reading Gaol (Castle Press 1948) *Purcell - These thy Gods (Longman 1949) *The Song of Songs (Selwyn & Blount 1952) * Flaubert, G. "Bibliomania" (Rodale, 1954) *Willis - Whatever Happened to Tom Mix (Cassell 1970)

Obituary

* Hobbs, John. ''The Times'', 25 August 1976,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wragg, Arthur 1903 births 1976 deaths British conscientious objectors British illustrators British socialists People from Eccles, Greater Manchester People from Harrogate