James Edward Lucas (20 December 1903 – ) was a British illustrator and teacher, affiliated with the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

(CPGB). Lucas was born in Rugby, the son of Joseph Lucas, an engine driver, and Anne Marie Sail. His father died in 1906 and his mother remarried William Skipworth.''1911 England Census'' Electrical engineer George Sail Campbell Lucas was his elder brother. Lucas did not sign much of his work, making attribution difficult. He designed a banner for the British Battalion of the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

, on behalf of the Artists International. Phyllis Ladyman, his wife and also an illustrator, oversaw its embroidering. The banner's poles had metal finials by the sculptor Betty Rea. It was presented to the battalion by Harry Pollitt at Christmas 1937. When that banner was captured, he designed its replacement. The replacement banner was shown as part of the ''Conscience and Conflict: British Artists and the Spanish Civil War'' exhibition at the Pallant House Gallery in 2015. He is also known for his engraving for the cover of early editions of ''The Country Standard''. He illustrated a 1947 edition of Ronald M. Lockley's ''I Know an Island''. He taught at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, where one of his pupils was Reg Turner, another CPGB affiliate. Dave Cope recalled him as "modest" and the "most political" among his artistic CPGB peers.

References

External links

Cover of ''The Country Standard'', Vol. 1 Issue 9, November 1936
(on

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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, James 20th-century British illustrators British illustrators British art educators British communists 1903 births Year of death missing