I escaped London briefly to spend a day beside the seaside, (beside the sea!) in Eastbourne. As well as enjoying the fresh sea air, I was there to take in - Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship, at the Towner Art Gallery. Ravilious's work has become so ubiquitous recently that there isn't really much new to say about him. This though, is one of the better of the recent exhibitions on Ravilious. Its main focus is primarily on Ravilious, but it enhances his reputation by also exhibiting the work of his wider artistic circle with contributions by John and Paul Nash, Edward Bawden, William Nicholson, and the lesser celebrated work of the women in that crowd such as Peggy Angus, Enid Marx, Phyllis Dodd and Helen Binyon. Phyllis Dodd's portraiture in particular was a revelation to me. As well as the example of Ravilious below, there were two other portraits of Bawden and Douglas Percy Bliss by Dodd, which I thought superbly displayed her talents both technically and aesthetically.
Phyllis Dodd - Portrait of Eric Ravilious
Eric Ravilious - Channel Steamers Leaving Harbour, 1935
Eric Ravilious - The James and The Foremost Prince, 1934
Eric Ravilious - Beautiful Britain, calendar design, 1939
There are lots of examples of just how fantastic and versatile Ravilious was as both an artist and designer. His watercolour technique was so outstanding and descriptive, as was his decorative wood engraving style. There are also examples of his furniture design as well as the wonderful designs on ceramics which he completed for Wedgewood. Another fascinating aspect of this exhibition is the amount of artworks which have never been publicly exhibited before, or since the 1930s. The serene painting HMS Actaeon, below, is a recently discovered lost treasure by Ravilious.
Eric Ravilious - HMS Actaeon, 1942
Eric Ravilious - Monotype Corporation Calendar, 1933
Eric Ravilious - Horoscope Engraving
Eric Ravilious - UK Pavilion Catalogue for Paris International Exhibition, 1937
Eric Ravilious - Chair Design for Dunbar Hay made by Henry Harris, 1936
Other gems in this exhibition for me were these two examples of Bawden's watercolour technique. I liked the way in which he would scratch back into the wet paint to create interesting marks and textures. His flair for pattern-making and design was just as strong as Ravilious's. Bawden's designs for wallpapers were lovely, and it great to see that some of these will be revived and made available again later this year by textile/wallpaper companies St Jude's and CommonRoom. St Jude's in particular have been very instrumental in the current vogue and appreciation of all things mid-century.
Edward Bawden - Back Garden At Great Bardfield, 1936
Edward Bawden - The Pond Great Bardfield, 1933
Edward Bawden - Chestnut Sunday; Bushey Park, London Transport poster, 1936
Edward Bawden - Waves & Fishes (Lagoon), 1929
Edward Bawden - Sahara, 1928
Edward Bawden - Curwen Press Newsletter No. 9
The graphic work of Barnett Freedman is absolutely stunning. He just understood typography, and illustration so well, and combined these with processes such as lithography perfectly to create outstanding outcomes.
Barnett Freedman - Trooping The Colour, 1937
Barnett Freedman - Curwen Press Newsletter No. 5
Barnett Freedman - Behold The Dreamer, book jacket design, 1939
William Rothenstein - Portrait of Barnett Freedman, 1925
Helen Binyon - The Wire Fence, 1935
Enid Marx - Bulgy The Barrage Balloon, children's book 1941
Enid Marx - Cornucopia textile design,
Enid Marx - Zig-Zag textile design,
Tirzah Ravilious - Epton, marble paper design
Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship
until 17th September
Towner Art Gallery
Devonshire Park, College Road
Eastbourne
towner@townereastbourne.org.uk
