Russell, James – The Bell Bookshop

Tirzah Garwood

Emma — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This beautifully illustrated book is the first full-length critical study to focus on the works of fine artist and printmaker, Tirzah Garwood (1908-1951), wife of artist Eric Ravilious.Tirzah Garwood (1908-1951) proved herself an artist of rare talent, in a life tragically cut short by illness, yet little of her work has been seen in public since her Memorial Exhibition in 1952. Written by James Russell, author of the bestselling Ravilious (2015), this beautifully illustrated book is published to coincide with the Dulwich Picture Gallery exhibition Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious, the first exhibition to explore the full range of Garwood’s achievements.A witty observer of the human condition, Garwood made her first breakthrough as a wood engraver of rare ability while still in her teens. After marrying Eric Ravilious she became a devoted mother to three children. During this period she took up paper marbling and quickly achieved renown for the dazzling originality of her decorative papers. In her early thirties she suffered the double blow of a breast cancer diagnosis and her husband’s death on active service in World War II. Undaunted, she wrote her autobiography Long Live Great Bardfield and began creating a series of strange, beautiful oil paintings and collaged constructions.In Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious her work is, for the first time, given the public showcase and critical examination it deserves, revealing Garwood’s development of a distinctive ‘sophisticated naive’ approach that subtly transformed innocent subjects to unsettling effect. More than ninety works by Tirzah Garwood – including books, studies and ephemera, almost exclusively from private collections – are accompanied by artworks by Eric Ravilious that set the context in which the artists worked together, exploring the shared interests and techniques of this remarkable creative couple.

Edward Bawden

Emma — Wed, 30 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This comprehensive survey of the career of Edward Bawden brings together his most significant work in watercolour, printmaking, design and illustration.

A sequel to the author’s previous title on Ravilious, this volume surveys the life and work of fellow artist Edward Bawden (1903-1989), another popular exponent of the modern British tradition. The book explores in depth the most significant creative periods of Bawden’s life and is fully illustrated throughout.

Bawden began his career in the 1920s as a precociously talented designer and illustrator. He successfully reinvented himself time and again as the decades passed while always retaining a distinctive freshness, humour and humanity in his work.

The book accompanied a major exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Ravilious

Emma — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This beautifully illustrated book is the first full-length critical study to focus on the watercolours of multitalented British artist and designer Eric Ravilious (1903-1942). Adopting the wide-ranging approach familiar to readers of his previous books on the artist, author James Russell explores the evolution of a remarkable talent. An introductory section offers an intimate portrait of Ravilious, an artist for whom personal relationships, particularly with women, were paramount. It goes on to describe the extraordinary achievements of an all-too-brief career, drawing on new research to seek out artistic influences and examine Ravilious’s relationships with fellow-artists, as well as the development of his mark making.There follows the most comprehensive display of Ravilious watercolours yet assembled. Some have never been published, while others are familiar and well loved. Many are explored in short accompanying essays, some with full-bleed images that show details of paintings at full size. These texts are designed to entertain and enlighten, looking at composition, technique, influence and inspiration, or discussing the significance of particular subjects and the people behind the scenes. This is the definitive guide to the luminous, evocative and timeless watercolours of Eric Ravilious, an artist now regarded as one of the finest of the twentieth century.