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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 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 ...
, where he had been a student, worked as a commercial artist and served as a war artist in
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 ...
. He was a fine watercolour painter but worked in many different media. He illustrated several books and painted murals in both the 1930s and 1960s. He was admired by Edward Gorey, David Gentleman and other graphic artists, and his work and career is often associated with that of his contemporary
Eric Ravilious Eric William Ravilious (22 July 1903 – 2 September 1942) was a British painter, designer, book illustrator and wood-engraver. He grew up in Sussex, and is particularly known for his watercolours of the South Downs, Castle Hedingham and othe ...
. Edward Bawden was married to the potter and artist, Charlotte Bawden (''née'' Epton). Together they were principal members of the Great Bardfield Artists, a community of artists influential in the art scene of England during the mid-20th century.


Early life and studies

Edward Bawden was born on 10 March 1903 at
Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town in Essex, England, and is the principal settlement of Braintree District. It is located north-east of Chelmsford, west of Colchester and north-west of Southend-on-Sea. According to the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Cens ...
, the only child of Edward Bawden, an ironmonger, and Eleanor Bawden (''née'' Game). His parents were
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
Christians. A solitary child, he spent much time drawing or wandering with butterfly-net and microscope. At the age of seven he was enrolled at Braintree High School, and began studying or copying drawings of cats by Louis Wain, illustrations in boys' and girls' magazines, and Burne Jones' illustrations of Malory's ''Morte d'Arthur''. Later his parents paid for him to attend the Friends' School at Saffron Walden, and there, when he was fifteen, the headmaster recommended him to study for one day a week at Cambridge School of Art. Upon leaving school in 1919, he attended Cambridge School of Art full-time from 1919 to 1921. There he became interested in calligraphy and in the work of
Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley ( ; 21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. ...
, Richard Doyle,
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
and other Victorians. This was followed in 1922 by a scholarship to 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 ...
School of Design in London, where he took a diploma in illustration until 1925. Here he met his fellow student and future collaborator
Eric Ravilious Eric William Ravilious (22 July 1903 – 2 September 1942) was a British painter, designer, book illustrator and wood-engraver. He grew up in Sussex, and is particularly known for his watercolours of the South Downs, Castle Hedingham and othe ...
; the pair were described by their teacher Paul Nash as "an extraordinary outbreak of talent".


Early work

It was during this period that Bawden produced the tiles for the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
that were exhibited at the International Building Trades Exhibition at Olympia in April 1928. In 1928, Bawden was commissioned by Sir Joseph Duveen, at the rate of £1 per day, to create a mural for the Refectory 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 ...
, London along with Ravilious and Charles Mahoney. The mural was unveiled in 1930 by former Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...
, who was at the time Leader of the Opposition. By 1930, Bawden was working one day a week for 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 best ...
, as was Ravilious and their former tutor, Nash, producing illustrations for leading companies at the time such as London Transport,
Westminster Bank Westminster Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales. It was created in 1834 as the London and Westminster Bank. It merged with the London and County Bank in 1909, after which it renamed itself the London County and W ...
,
Twinings Twinings () is a British marketeer of tea and other beverages, including coffee, hot chocolate, and malt drinks, based in Andover, Hampshire. The brand is owned by Associated British Foods. It holds the world's oldest continually used company ...
, Poole Potteries, Shell-Mex & BP, the
Folio Society The Folio Society is an independent London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it became an employee ownership trust in 2021. It produces illustrated hardback fine press edit ...
,
Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his busines ...
and
Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
. In the early 1930s he was discovered by the Stuart Advertising Agency, owned by H. Stuart Menzies and Marcus Brumwell. Around this time Bawden produced some of his most humorous and innovative work for
Fortnum & Mason Fortnum & Mason plc (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an Luxury goods, upmarket department store in London, England. The main store is located at 181 Piccadilly in the St James's area of London, where it was established in 1707 ...
and
Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was an early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...
. He also worked for ''The Listener''. In 1932, Bawden married Charlotte Epton, a successful potter, who had been a fellow-student at the Royal College. They had two children, Joanna and
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, both of whom would become artists. At first the couple lived in a flat 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. It ...
, but soon moved to a Georgian house in Great Bardfield, Essex, only a few miles from Braintree, where Bawden had been born. Following his move to the country he began to paint more, in addition to his commercial design work, developing his watercolour technique. Most of his subjects were of scenes around Great Bardfield. He held an exhibition of his Essex watercolours at the Zwemmer Gallery in 1934, and another show of his paintings was held at the Leicester Galleries in 1938. According to the Fry Gallery, "Charlotte Bawden was at the centre of all the artistic and social activity in Great Bardfield through four decades, providing generous hospitality, organisation, and support for Edward in his extensive output and teaching." In 1938, Bawden collaborated with John Aldridge, who also lived in the village, on a range of wallpapers that they intended to be printed commercially, but from lino blocks handcut by the designers. The project left little other time for other work during the year, and war intervened before the papers could go into production. One of Bawden's most familiar designs from this era was the 'Puzzled Lion and Startled Unicorn' ''
Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Fiction * ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress * ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...
'' masthead, which was created around 1939 and remained in use by the national newspaper until 1989.


War artist

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 ...
Bawden served as an official
war artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...
, first with the British army in France and then, following the army's evacuation from there, in the Middle East. Already in France before World War II was declared, he recorded defences being prepared at
Halluin Halluin (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography It is located at the north of the Métropole Européenne de Lille, on the Belgium, Belgian border ...
, then witnessed the bombing of Armentières and the evacuation from
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. He was posted to North Africa as a
War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
Artist on a full-time War Artists' Advisory Committee contract. Bawden painted landscapes and portraits in Libya, Sudan, Cairo, Eritrea and Ethiopia, reaching
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
in May 1941. At the start of 1942 he travelled with Anthony Gross to Palestine and Lebanon. After making a series of studies of the
Marsh Arabs The Marsh Arabs (Arabic: عرب الأهوار ʻArab al-Ahwār "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as Ahwaris, the Maʻdān (Arabic: معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog ( "those from the east")—the latter two often conside ...
in southern Iraq, Bawden was recalled to London. He departed Cairo aboard the SS ''Stratheden'' but transferred to the RMS ''Laconia'' in Durban on 27 August 1942. After the Laconia was torpedoed and sunk, on 12 September 1942, he spent five days in an open lifeboat before being rescued by a French ship, the '' Gloire''. He was held prisoner in a Vichy internment camp in Casablanca for two months before the camp was liberated by American troops. From Casablanca he sailed to
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
. When he eventually returned to Britain, Bawden did portrait work at the Military Hospital in
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...
and in Scotland, with Polish forces training there. He returned to Iraq in September 1943, as a Ministry of Information artist to work in Baghdad and Kurdistan, before he joined the Middle East Anti-Locust Unit on its trek to
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
. From Jeddah, he returned to the Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq, before entering Iran to portray supply shipments to the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Bawden returned to England in 1944 and for a short while, painted at Southampton Docks before departing for
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, by way of Rome. Unable to enter Yugoslavia he went to
Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...
, then Greece, Austria and
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
before travelling back to England in July 1945.


Later work

Bawden lived in Great Bardfield, Essex from the 1930s to 1970. While living at Bardfield he was an important member of the Great Bardfield Artists. This group of local artists were diverse in style but shared a love for figurative art, making the group distinct from the better known St Ives art community 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, ...
, who, after the war, were chiefly dominated by abstractionists. In 1949, Bawden provided illustrations for the book ''London is London – A Selection of Prose and Verse by D. M. Low''. Bawden completed a series of eleven murals for the First Class lounge of the P&O liner '' Oronsay'', which was launched in 1951. The theme was the English pub and Bawden depicted traditional pub names, such as the Rose & Crown, in purely visual form in his design. For the Festival of Britain in 1951 he created a mural, ''English Country Life'', that was displayed in the entrance of The Lion and the Unicorn Pavilion. During the 1950s, the Great Bardfield Artists organised a series of large 'open house' exhibitions which attracted national press attention. Positive reviews and the novelty of viewing art works in the artists' own homes (including Bawden's Brick House) led to thousands visiting the remote village during the summer exhibitions of 1954, 1955, and 1958. As well as these shows, the Great Bardfield Artists held several touring exhibitions of their work in 1957, 1958, and 1959. After the death of his wife in 1970, Bawden moved to the nearby town of
Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...
, where he continued to work until his death at home on 21 November 1989.


Legacy

Bawden bequeathed about 3,000 of his works to The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum,
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
. His work can be seen in many major collections and is shown regularly at the Fry Art Gallery, Saffron Walden and at the Higgins. His notable surviving public works include a tile depicting a foot ferry on the
River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...
, commissioned by
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
and located on the
Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in South London, and in the east, via the West End of London, West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run comp ...
platform at Tottenham Hale tube station. Bawden also produced the cameo-like silhouette of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
located at Victoria tube station. An early map, produced in 1931 for Scarborough's Pavilion Hotel and presented to Scarborough Library when the hotel was sold, was recently restored and rehung in the library. The original
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 ...
mural that Bawden created in the 1930s was destroyed during a wartime bombing raid; however the rebuilt and relocated college on the
South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...
contains a fine surviving mural by him. In 1965 Bawden completed a mural for
Queen's University, Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
and his last major commission, completed in 1972, was for an historical mural inside
Blackwell's Blackwell UK, also known as Blackwell's and Blackwell Group, is a British academic book retailer and library supply service owned by Waterstones. It was founded in 1879 by Benjamin Henry Blackwell, after whom the chain is named, on Broad Stree ...
bookshop in Oxford.


Teaching, appointments and awards

Having briefly taught design and book illustration at
Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...
, from 1928 to 1931, Bawden then went on to teach at the Royal College of Art between 1930 and 1963 (except for the years of World War II). In 1968, he became a tutor at the Royal Academy Schools. In 1969 Bawden became a Senior Part-Time Lecturer in Graphics at the City of Leicester Polytechnic.DMU Special Collections, D/009, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/7c3ec076-3b27-38c2-975b-976aa3fad234 Among his numerous appointments and awards that came later in his career are: * 1946 – Appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) * 1947 – Associate of the Royal Academy * 1949 – Royal Designer for Industry (RSA) * 1949/50 – Guest instructor for the Summers of 1949/50 at the Banff School of Fine Art, Canada * 1951 – Trustee of the Tate Gallery (1951–1958 * 1956 – Elected Royal Academician * 1962 – Honorary Associate of Manchester College of Art * 1963 – Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art * 1964 – Silver Medal from the Society of Industrial Artists * 1970 – Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Art * 1974 – Honorary Doctorate from the
University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...
* 1979 – Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers


Writings by Bawden

* ''Life in an English Village'' (King Penguin Books No. 51) (1949, Penguin Books) * ''The English Scene'' (1952, Sheneval Press) * ''Hold Fast By Your Teeth'' (1963, Routledge & Kegan Paul) * ''Travels of a War Artist 1940–45'' (1983, Imperial War Museum) * ''Edward Bawden, war artist, and his letters home, 1940–1945'' edited by Ruari McLean. 1989, Scolar Press, Aldershot, in association with the Imperial War Museum


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Bawden's Cats
*




1980 interview with Edward Bawden, © IWM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bawden, Edward 1903 births 1989 deaths 20th-century English male artists 20th-century English painters Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London Academics of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the Royal College of Art English illustrators British printmakers British railway artists English war artists British World War II prisoners of war Chartered designers English male painters People educated at Friends School Saffron Walden People from Braintree, Essex People from Great Bardfield People from Saffron Walden Shipwreck survivors World War II artists 20th-century British war artists World War II prisoners of war held by Vichy France Military personnel from Essex British Army personnel of World War I British Army officers