Edward Bawden 1903-1989

Edward Bawden was an English artist, known for his prints, graphic art and illustrations.

Born in Braintree, Essex, Bawden spent much of his time as a child drawing and was also known to wander the local landscape, armed with a butterfly net and microscope. From 1919-22 he studied at Cambridge School of Art, developing a keen interest in Victorian artists such as William Morris and Aubrey Beardsley, alongside the art of calligraphy. This was followed by three years at the Royal College of Art where he was taught by Paul Nash and developed an enduring, lifelong friendship with fellow artist Eric Ravilious; the pair were described by Nash as ‘an extraordinary outbreak of talent’ and whilst still studying, the two took on a commission for a mural at Morley College.

Leaving the Royal College in 1925, Bawden’s career as a graphic artist took off with his earliest lithographs used as posters for the London Underground and he began work with Curwen Press, producing work for advertisements, book covers and posters, as well as graphic design for companies including Penguin Books, Twinings and London Transport. In 1923 Bawden had married fellow student at the RCA, Charlotte Epton, who had studied ceramics with Bernard Leach and the couple moved from London to the Essex countryside in the early 1930s, inspiring him to begin painting more readily, quickly developing his watercolour prowess.

The move from London to Great Barfield marked a happy and productive period for Bawden, especially since the couple moved with Ravilious and his wife Tirzah Garwood. Bawden worked tirelessly on the garden, consistently sending plants to his former teacher at RCA, E.W. Tristram and to John Nash who wrote, ‘You are the most punctilious sort of good gardener, you always send the plants you promise’. He took great pride in exhibiting the fruits of his labour at the local flower show. Ravilious and Bawden would competitively work on watercolours in the garden throughout the day and in the evenings Bawden would linocut and Ravilious would make wood engravings whilst the Charlotte and Tirzah created marble papers used by Curwen Press. These years were sociable, friends from the RCA such as Evelyn Mary Dunbar and Enid Marx came to visit and the garden attracted artist-gardeners such as Cedric Morris and John Nash who would come to swap plant cuttings with Bawden.

An important element of the artist’s time in Great Barfield was the founding of the Great Barfield Artists group which Bawden was part of from the 1930s until 1970. The group was distinct from that of the St Ives artists in their shared commitment to figurative art, despite differing styles and included John Aldridge, Michael Rothenstein, Sheila Robinson and various guest exhibitors such as Laurence Scarf who took part in 1958. They attracted national press attention throughout the 1950s with their open house exhibitions, allowing viewers to see the work in the homes of the artists. Later into the decade, they would hold touring exhibitions of their work.

Bawden’s career overall was varied and multifaceted, becoming a teacher of graphic design at his former school, the RCA in the 1930s and contributing to the war effort by becoming an Official War Artist throughout the Second World War, working in Belgium, France, the Middle East and Africa. The artist became a Royal Academician in 1956 and an honorary fellow of the RCA in 1963. The artist moved from his home in Great Barfield, to nearby Saffron Walden following the death of his wife in 1970 where he remained working until his own death in 1989. Tiles designed by Bawden still remain at Tottenham Hale tube station in London and a cameo of Queen Victoria which can be seen at Victoria tube station. His work is held by many private and public collections, including over 3000 works bequeathed by the artist to the Higgins Art Gallery, as well as regularly exhibited work at the Fry Art Gallery.