Edward Osmond (6 May 1900 — c. 1981) was an English artist from the 1920s to 1960s. During this time period, Osmond primarily worked as an illustrator before publishing his first book for children, ''A Valley Grows Up,'' in 1953. The following year, Osmond received the 1954 Carnegie Medal for '' A Valley Grows Up''. Osmond continued to write children's works during the 1950s to 1960s, including multiple series on animals. Apart from his children's works, Osmond's artworks were displayed at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

and

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

during the 1920s. He also was an art teacher at the

Hastings College of Arts and Technology East Sussex College or East Sussex College Group is the largest higher education college in East Sussex, providing education and training from foundation to degree level. The college educates almost half of the county's young people and over ...

and Hornsey College of Art.

Early life and education

On 6 May 1900 Osmond was born in Orford, Suffolk. For his post-secondary education, Osmond went to the Polytechnic-Regent Street for an art program between 1917 and 1924. At the end of his studies, Osmond received diplomas in painting and art history.

Career

During the 1920s, Osmond had his art shown at the

and Walker Art Gallery. With his diplomas, Osmond taught art at the

and Hornsey College of Art. Osmond expanded his career into illustrations in 1928 before he wrote his first book for children, ''A Valley Grows Up'', in 1953. As an illustrator from the 1950s to 1970s, Osmond primarily illustrated his own works. Authors that Osmond illustrated for during this period include

Arthur Catherall Arthur Catherall (1906–1980) was an English author, mostly of works for children. Catherall was born in Bolton, England. During the Second World War he served with the RAF in Burma and East Bengal. He also travelled widely in Europe, Africa a ...

Percy Westerman Percy Francis Westerman (1876 – 22 February 1959) was an English author of children's literature, with a prolific output. Many of his books are adventure stories with military and naval themes. Biography He was born in Portsmouth, England in ...

, Cynthia Harnett and Richard Armstrong. During his writing career, Osmond received the Carnegie Medal in 1954 for ''A Valley Grows Up''. Osmond continued to write throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his works include a series about animals found throughout the world and another animal series focusing on Great Britain.

Writing style and settings

While teaching his

learning disability Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

classes, Osmond "illustrated on a blackboard islectures by means of an imaginary village". His school drawings became the basis for ''A Valley Grows Up''. To create the fictional locations in ''A Valley Grows Up'', Osmond used

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, Wye Valley and the shoreline of Dorset.

Death and personal life

In 1981, Osmond died in

. He was married and had one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osmond, Edward 1900 births 1981 deaths 20th-century English male artists Alumni of the University of Westminster Carnegie Medal in Literature winners English male writers English illustrators Artists from Suffolk Writers who illustrated their own writing Date of death missing People from Orford, Suffolk