A Ravilious & Bawden Blog

2012-01-19T03:34:00.000-08:00

Ravilious in Pictures: A Travelling Artist is the fourth in a series of books celebrating the life and work of Eric Ravilious (1903-42). This volume features twenty-two pictures, each of which is both an exquisite painting in its own right and part of something bigger: the artist’s idiosyncratic study of Britain in the 1930s.

Although Ravilious often completed paintings in his studio, with the help of pencilled notes, his pictures invariably began as a sketch of a real place, at a particular time of day – often dawn, or soon after – and in whatever weather conditions the moment offered. The quest for new subjects took Ravilious around Britain and beyond, on a decade-long journey of discovery. Inspired by places as diverse as Dungeness in Kent and the Welsh valley of Capel-y-Ffin, Ravilious also sought out unusual subjects, like the Greenwich Observatory, and strange perspectives, such as the view from inside the Belle Tout lighthouse. Following his habit of painting in series he drew the ports of Bristol and Rye, Newhaven and Le Havre; he painted lifeboats and pilot boats and the picturesque interiors of dockside inns. Each painting depicts a particular aspect of a fascinating place and each is accompanied by a concise essay which explores the location further, introducing characters and stories hidden behind the scenes. Taken as a whole, the twenty-two watercolours in this volume provide a uniquely compelling portrait of Britain in the years before World War II.

Author: James Russell

Published by: Mainstone Press

ISBN: 978-0955277788

Available from: 1 March 2011

2011-11-25T04:51:00.000-08:00

It's competition time! Culture 24 are running a competition to win a signed copy of the new Paul Nash book by James Russell. Go on, have a go! Click here

2011-11-17T01:37:00.000-08:00

Join us for the Friends of St Bride Library’s special winter event – a unique chance to hear talks by leading experts on Paul Nash, followed by mince pies & wine and an opportunity to buy books and and prints from fine press publishers. Nash’s paintings of both world wars are iconic. His landscapes express a profound sense of place and show a painter wrestling with the challenge of being a British artist drawn to the modern movement. Speakers include David Heathcote, Alan Powers, James Russell, and Brian Webb. See website for details.

2011-11-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Paul Nash in Pictures: Landscape and Dream by James Russell will be launched at Henry Sotheran's in London on Tuesday 15 November (6-8pm). The address is No 2 Sackville Street (just off Piccadilly) W1.

Come and meet the author, see the new book and have a glass of wine...

2011-10-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

New Limited Edition from The Mainstone Press:

Chalk Figure Near Weymouth by Eric Ravilious.

See The Mainstone Press website for details...

2011-09-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

Paul Nash in Pictures: Landscape and Dream by James Russell - to be published by the Mainstone Press in October 2011. For further details or to order a book please email: info@themainstonepress.com

2011-08-14T02:12:00.000-07:00

Paul Nash in Pictures: Landscape and Dream

Press Release from The Mainstone Press

Paul Nash, Event on the Downs, 1934

Paul Nash in Pictures: Landscape and Dream by James Russell celebrates the life and work of Paul Nash (1889-1946), an artist of energy and vision who created iconic paintings of both world wars and explored in inimitable style the ideas and issues of the interwar years. After a period of neglect following his death, Nash’s reputation is in the ascendant again, but though we appreciate the quality of his paintings, we have perhaps lost sight of their humanity.

Bringing a fresh eye to the artist’s legacy, Paul Nash in Pictures: Landscape and Dream goes behind the scenes of twenty-two paintings to explore Nash’s life, the places and people he knew, and the times in which he lived. The book draws on diverse sources, from published books to correspondence, to create an intimate portrait of a passionate, funny, supremely imaginative artist.

This approach will be familiar to readers of the Ravilious in Pictures series published by the Mainstone Press, and the book has been produced in a similar style and with the same attention to detail. In this, the first of two proposed books on Nash, we focus on the artist’s oil paintings – the work in which he explored most thoroughly the ideas that preoccupied him. Well-known paintings like ‘The Battle of Britain’ are included alongside pictures that are reproduced for the first time. A second volume will address the artist’s watercolours, so that the two books together form a unique biography of Paul Nash – a life in pictures.

Paul Nash in Pictures: Landscape and Dream will be published by The Mainstone Press in October 2011. The author James Russell is available for talks and book signings. Please contact the publisher for details.

What the critics say about Ravilious in Pictures:

‘Beautiful’ (Stella magazine, Sunday Telegraph, Dec 2009)

‘Ravilious’s watercolour landscapes of the South Downs … are beautifully reproduced here alongside insightful essays.’(London Review of Books, Jan 2010)

'James Russell’s writing has the clarity and concision of the paintings, and is both properly informative and enjoyably readable... Glorious.’ (Andrew Lambirth, The Art Newspaper, Sept 2010)

‘A vivid portrait of the artist’ (Country Life magazine, Dec 2010)

‘Fantastic’ (Emily Rhodes, The Spectator Arts Blog, Dec 2010)

‘Alluring… convivial…’(Paul Laity, The Guardian, May 2011)

2011-08-14T01:16:00.000-07:00

Ravilious in Pictures - see Andrew Lambirth's review in The Spectator

2011-06-04T05:04:00.000-07:00

Great review of the Ravilious show in Essex and the new book by Culture 24.

Click here to view

2011-05-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Nice review by Emily Rhodes on her blog about the new book and the party at Ben Pentreath's. See http://emilybooks.wordpress.com/

2011-04-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Book of the week - comes with a free teabag!

Delighted to see that Ravilious in Pictures - A Country Life - has been voted book of the week by Much Ado Books, the wonderful independent and award-winning bookshop in Alfriston, East Sussex. Do call in if you are passing and say hello - you will get a very friendly welcome...

MUCH ADO BOOK OF THE WEEK

2011-04-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

Ravilious in Pictures: A Country Life will be launched at the Fry in Saffron Walden on Saturday 16 April from 11 - 13.00. The author James Russell will be signing copies of the book and the launch coincides with the opening of the exhibition - Ravilious in Essex.

2011-03-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

Coming soon... Ravilious in Pictures: A Country Life by James Russell. Available from the Mainstone Press in early April.

The Oldie

2011-01-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

As featured in the books section of this month's Oldie...

Country Life...

2010-12-29T11:33:00.000-08:00

A short review from Country Life...

One Lump or Two

2010-11-30T12:52:00.000-08:00

Our new book on Edward Bawden has just been published!

London Review of Books

2010-11-22T03:25:00.000-08:00

One of this week's recommnded titles!

Stella, 21 Nov 2010. Page 68

2010-11-21T12:00:00.001-08:00

Delighted to see Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings featured in The Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine - in Christmas gifts for men for under £50!

Stella
21 Nov 2010

EDWARD BAWDEN EVENING IN LONDON

2010-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Join us for a special winter event at the St Bride Library in London where there will be a unique chance to hear talks by leading experts on Edward Bawden, followed by mince pies & wine and an opportunity to buy books and and prints from fine press publishers. The speakers are:

* Peyton Skipwith ‘The man and his humour’
* Alan Powers ‘The murals of Edward Bawden’
* Brian Webb ‘Designer by popular demand’
* Chris Brown ‘EB: collaborator and printmaker’
* Mark Hearld & Jonny Hannah ‘Edward Bawden in the 21st century’

The Mainstone Press will also be launching their new book - One Lump or Two: Tea, Twinings and Edward Bawden. To book a ticket go to: http://www.stbride.org/events

And the answers are...

2010-11-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who took part in our Ravilious picture quiz - the winners will be notified this week. The answers were as follows:

1. Coastal Defences
2. Midnight Sun
3. Runway Perspective
4. Dangerous Work at Low Tide
5. No.1 Map Corridor
6. A Warship in Dock
7. Barrage Balloons outside a British Port
8. Ship's Screw on a Railway Truck
9. Corporal Stediford's Mobile Pigeon Loft

For anyone who would like to buy a copy of the book - it goes on sale next week.

Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings - available very soon...

2010-10-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

The second book in the Ravilious in Pictures series - The War Paintings by James Russell - will be available from November 3. For anyone who would like to order a copy, please see the attached forms.

Our competion is still open to anyone who would like to have a go - see previous post or visit our facebook page.

Can you handle the Ravilious challenge?

2010-10-16T04:52:00.000-07:00

The Mainstone Press Picture Challenge...

To mark the forthcoming publication of Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings we have devised a cunning picture competition... Identify the paintings from the details above and email your answers to info@themainstonepress.com by 29 October. The first five people drawn from the hat with the correct answers will receive a copy of the book signed by the author.

Coming soon... the next book in the trilogy.

2010-09-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Well here's the cover! Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings by James Russell (ISBN 978-0955277740) published by The Mainstone Press will be available in early November this year. More news very soon...

The War Paintings competition

2010-09-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

Exciting news flash! I have just received from our author - James Russell - the final draft for the next book in the trilogy - Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings. We will post the cover artwork at the end of next week and give full publication details. A signed copy of the book (once it's published - probably in early November) will be available to the first person to send in the title of the Ravilious watercolour they think we will be using for the front cover... Clue it's from a UK gallery - not a private collection...

Also, we will be posting info soon on our latest book on Edward Bawden - One Lump or Two - a publication for tea enthusiasts and lovers of Bawden's quirky black and white illustrations. Details will be posted on our new facebook page - see: http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Lump-or-Two/102845446446735

The Art Newspaper - book review

2010-09-07T02:12:00.000-07:00

This month's Art Newspaper features the following review of Ravilious in Pictures...

Ravilious Competition

2010-09-06T02:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who entered the Ravilious competition. The answer was - I LOVE ALPHABETS. If you didn't win, don't worry - we will be having a new challenge soon. In the meantime, here's a picture of the whole alphabet to show you how the code worked.

New from the Mainstone Press...

2010-09-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce the publication of three new Ravilious prints - Newhaven Harbour and two Ravilious alphabets, one in pink and the other in blue.

These can all be seen at the Towner in Eastbourne which is also in the final week of Familiar Visions - an exhibition showing the work of Eric and James.

Can you crack the Ravilious code?

2010-08-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

To mark the publication of a series of new limited edition prints we thought we would run a Ravilious competition...The first two people to decipher the message shown and to email us the answer at info@themainstonepress.com will receive one of our new Ravilious alphabets.... Please let us know whether you would like one with pink or blue banding. Good luck!

Calling all Ravilious Fans...Book signing

2010-06-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Meet the Author of Ravilious in Pictures: Sussex & the Downs James Russell

James Russell will give an illustrated talk around his recently published book 'Eric Ravilious and the Sussex Downs', aiming to take people behind the scenes of several well-known paintings and to introduce characters and stories that add an extra dimension to the pictures. Robin Ravilious will be talking about her late husband, James Ravilious and his 17 year project photographing rural life in North Devon.

This will be followed by a book signing with James Russell. Come and meet the author of this new book and hear about the next book in the trilogy - Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings.

Exhibition Hall 1 at The Towner in Eastbourne
Saturday 3 July
Talks - 12noon-1.30pm
£7/£6 concession or £10/£9 with exhibition entry

Now booking
Book Signing 1.30pm onwards
FREE

Towner, Devonshire Park, College Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ
Tel 01323 434660

Ravilious Press Release

2010-05-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Familiar Visions:
Eric and James Ravilious: Father and Son

Towner, contemporary art museum, Eastbourne

3 July – 5 September 2010

Towner’s big summer exhibition showcases the work of much-loved Sussex artist Eric Ravilious – but with a twist. For the first time Ravilious’s work will be shown alongside that of his son James, inviting new comparisons between father and son and revealing a shared and deep-seated love of the English landscape.

Towner is renowned for its long association with Eric Ravilious and this exhibition will focus on the artist’s depiction of Sussex: a landscape he recorded ardently in different media - watercolour, woodblock and lithography. His work will be shown alongside a selection of photographs by his son James (1939-1999) which depict the farming community of North Devon.

Eric Ravilious (1903–1942) was brought up in Eastbourne and, following his time at the Royal College of Art, returned frequently to Sussex where he stayed with Peggy Angus at Furlongs, her home near Lewes. He was interested in exploring the relationship between people and the landscape, nearly always including in his work an example of human presence such as farm machinery and implements, or the chalk figures of the South Downs.

James Ravilious was born in Eastbourne. He studied art at St Martin's School of Art, London, and subsequently taught painting and drawing in London. After marrying Robin, the daughter of glass-engraver Laurence Whistler, in 1970, the couple moved to Devon to live in a cottage near her family home. James was self-taught as a photographer, but his works combine great technical ability with an understanding and affection for the people and landscape that he represented. Although he and this father only co-existed for 3 years before Eric’s untimely death, parallels can be seen in their work.

This exhibition will include works from Towner’s own collection alongside major loans from public galleries, as well as little seen works from private collections.

Towner is pleased to be able to showcase the work of both artists in its new purpose-built gallery, which opened in April 2009. The new building enables Towner to bring nationally significant exhibitions to a South Coast town, and its dramatic setting with stunning views over the South Downs makes it the perfect space for an exhibition highlighting Ravilious’s love of the Sussex landscape.

Towner Devonshire Park, College Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ

Story of High Street Reviewed in Parenthesis

2010-04-30T03:44:00.000-07:00

Have just been sent the following review from "PARENTHESIS" - the journal of the The Fine Press Book Association (FPBA). The FPBA is an organization of individuals interested in the art of fine printing, formed with the goal of promoting the appreciation of beautiful books and printing skills.

Book reviews Parenthesis 18

Eric Ravilious: The Story of High Street by Alan Powers and James Russell,

Published by Mainstone Press, 2008

‘Here at last, after all this long time, is “High Street” and I send you a copy as a sort of Christmas present’ wrote the English artist Eric Ravilious (1903–1942) to his former lover Helen Binyon, on 28 October 1938. Seventy years later, almost to the day, the Mainstone Press published what is effectively a facsimile of Ravilious’s now much-coveted last book, along with two twenty-first century commentaries. Historical context for the 1938 book is provided by the art historian Alan Powers’s informative account of its genesis; and by the social historian James Russell’s account of his and the publisher’s research into the locations of the real shops that the artist illustrated in High Street, and how the shops have changed since then.

Eric Ravilious : The story of High Street was high on the artist’s admirers’ Christmas wish lists last year, despite several other new books about him having been published during 2008 by private presses and trade publishers. But there is little danger of generating a glut in the insatiable Ravilious market. The artist and his inter-war contemporaries, including Edward Ardizzone, Edward Bawden, Barnett Freedman and John Nash, depicted the landscape and life of rural and urban England during a period of accelerating change. Although they are all admired, Ravilious is particularly revered, perhaps because he died at the age of 39, while serving as an official war artist stationed in Iceland. His continuing appeal puzzles some North America readers, but he has advocates there too. ‘O’Connor’s my favourite wood engraver of them all,’ wrote the American artist Vance Gerry to John Randle of Matrix twenty years ago. ‘Ravilious next.’

In 1924 Ravilious and his friend Bawden jointly designed ‘The Christmas Bookshop’, an advertising insert for the December 1924 edition of The Studio. It was one of their earliest published designs, drawn while they were still students at the Royal College of Art. It shows a bow-fronted window, with a frock-coated bookseller standing proprietorially in the shop’s doorway. Helen Binyon and Ravilious had considered collaborating on an alphabet of 26 shops in 1935, when the artist began scouting for likely subjects. ‘On the way to Euston I came across a perfect addition to the series – a milk shop, a beauty altogether and if you ever come with me I must show it to you,’ he wrote to Binyon on 27 November 1935.

His father having been a shopkeeper might have contributed to Ravilious’s interest in shops but, as Powers explains, the artist and his contemporaries were enthusiastic about Soviet books for children, illustrated with lithographed scenes of everyday life. Illustrated French children’s books depicting shop fronts, such as those published by Père Castor, were also popular. By 1936, High Street had become a series of illustrations, in search of a publisher and a text. Ravilious offered it to the Golden Cockerel Press, who declined it. But Noel Carrington, adviser to Country Life Publications, liked the idea and commissioned Hamish Miles to write the text. Unfortunately Miles died before writing it, so J M Richards was commissioned in his place. He researched the subject assiduously, questioning various shopkeepers and even obtaining a written quote for diving equipment from Siebe, Gorman & Co. Ltd, suppliers of ‘Everything for the Diver and for Submarine Operations’.

Although it was not included in High Street, Ravilious’s pencil and wash sketch of the milk shop is reproduced opposite the title page of the Mainstone Press book, which is illustrated throughout with the artist’s surviving preparatory drawings. He made detailed annotated sketches on the spot, from which he later drew edited versions with simple, incisive pencil lines, and eventually transferred them to lithographic plates. He quickly mastered the technical skills to achieve a wider range of colours in his lithographs than the four ink colours used, by overprinting transparent inks. This is evident from his subsequent reworking of three High Street shops, published in Signature 5 in 1937.

High Street had a print run of 2000. It was reviewed well on publication, with copies selling at seven shillings and sixpence each. Its importance in Ravilious’s oeuvre was

assured, and a copy was displayed in the memorial exhibition organised by the Arts Council in 1948. But the conflict that killed the artist also destroyed his High Street lithographic plates, when the Curwen Press was bombed. This ruled out any post-war reprint of the book.

Ravilious’s lithographs are magnificent, but the book itself was poorly designed, its pinched margins cramping both text and lithographs. Its design is less elegant than

other inter-war trade books, including Adrian Bell’s Men and the Fields, illustrated with six full-page lithographs by John Nash, which Pat Gilmour described in 1977 as ‘one of those nine shillings and sixpence bargains that still make one gasp’. It is unfortunate that individual lithographs from High Street are seen to better advantage when generously mounted, fetching ever higher prices which encourage dealers to break up damaged copies.

The Mainstone Press chose a page size of 26.5 × 19.5cm for The story of High Street, after the publisher had observed that the ‘Knife Grinder’ lithograph looked better when printed on the more generously-sized pages of Country Fair (The Country Life Annual, 1938). Bound in dark blue cloth with a front label reproducing Ravilious’s watercolour sketch of the ‘Submarine Shop’, the book has a slipcase covered in the same fabric.

Many of the shops illustrated in High Street were already anachronistic, with their narrow specialisations, when chain and department stores were beginning to impose uniformity in retailing, and also with their old-fashioned stock, such as paraffin lamps and ceramic hot water bottles. Only two of the 24 High Street shops are still to be found at their original addresses: clerical outfitter J Wippell and cheesemonger Paxton and Whitfield. But Ravilious’s lithographs in the original book, and the excellent reproductions in the new facsimile, provide nostalgic insights into 1930s retailing, now that the majority of people serve themselves in supermarkets or virtually, via internet shopping.

Reviewed by Colin Martin

The Friends of the Towner

2010-04-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

With over 670 members, the Friends of The Towner is an active organisation which runs a series of exciting events to support and assist the Towner and to encourage and foster the appreciation of the arts in Eastbourne.

The Friends have a busy programme of meetings, exhibitions, concerts and lectures, details of which can be found on their website: http://www.friendsofthetowner.org.uk.

We were delighted to see our book reviewed in their latest Spring 2010 newsletter "The Towner Times" - see http://www.friendsofthetowner.org.uk/pdfs/tt_spring10.pdf

Vote for the Towner!

2010-03-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

The new Towner Gallery in Eastbourne - home to the largest collection of work by Eric Ravilious - has been shortlisted for the 2010 Art Fund prize. The winning gallery will receive £100,000. If you would like to vote or find out more please go to:

www.artfundprize.org.uk/2010/vote/

Tirzah Ravilious and the Women of Bardfield

2010-03-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

A new exhibition opens at the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden on Easter Sunday.

The Women of Bardfield features the work of the women who lived in Great Bardfield during the period 1930-1970, inlcuding Tirzah Garwood (Mrs Ravilious), Charlotte Epton (Mrs Bawden), Joan Glass (Mrs Clifford-Smith), Duffy Ayers (Mrs Rothenstein), Marianne Sraub, Shelia Robinson (Mrs Cheese), Denise Hoyle and Audrey Cruddas. For further details see: http://www.fryartgallery.org

Look out for the lovely accompanying catalogue designed by Webb and Webb.

London Review Bookshop

2010-03-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Ravilious in Pictures: Sussex and the Downs - listed as no 1 bestseller on London Review Bookshop's website - 20/3/2010.

See http://www.lrbshop.co.uk/.

London Review Bookshop
14 Bury Place,
London,
WC1A 2JL

Eastern Daily Press - London Diary

2010-01-23T05:31:00.000-08:00

Delighted to have the following review from Ian Collins in the Eastern Daily Press this month. Ian writes a regular column for the paper - The London Diary - and has just written and had published a fascinating biography of British abstract artist John McLean. For further details see: www.lundhumphries.com.

Stella Loves - Sunday Telegraph

2009-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

As featured in the Sunday Telegraph's - Stella Magazine!

And the answers are...

2009-12-10T01:36:00.000-08:00

Here are the answers to our Ravilious challange. Thanks to everyone who entered - winners will be notified this week.

1. Cement Works 2
2. Wiltshire Landscape
3. The Waterwheel
4. Caravans
5. The Westbury Horse
6. The Cerne Abbas Giant
7. Downs in Winter
8. Chalk Paths
9. Interior at Furlongs

Can you handle the Ravilious challenge...

2009-11-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

Rhapsodic about Ravilious?

To mark the publication of Ravilious in Pictures: Sussex and the Downs we have devised a cunning picture competition to identify the true Ravilious aficionado. Identify the paintings from the details above and email your answers to info@themainstonepress.com by 1 December. The first five people drawn from the hat with the correct answers will receive a copy of the book signed by the author.

Eric Ravilious - Chalk hill figures, Cement works, Sussex and the Downs

2009-11-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

Who was Mr Humphreys? Where was Furlongs? What was concealed behind a walled garden in Firle? What's 'Junking' and how exactly did the artist tear his trousers in Dorset? All will be revealed shortly...

Ravilious in Pictures: Sussex and the Downs by James Russell - available from the Mainstone Press on Monday 23 November.

Coming Soon...

2009-10-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

We are working on the first in a series of books about the watercolours of Eric Ravilious. Ravilious in Pictures: Sussex and the Downs will feature 20 downland paintings with accompanying essays by James Russell.

The book will be launched at a number of venues in December starting with a Ravilious evening at the St Bride Printing Library in London on December 2.

Further details to follow.

A Walk along High Street

2009-08-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Towner Times, produced quarterly by The Friends of The Towner, posted the following review of our recent Ravilious event in Eastbourne:

Eric Ravilious talk
Review by Frances Lloyd OBE
Winter Garden Gold Room, Eastbourne
Tuesday 7th April 7.30 pm

WITH TOWNER HOUSING the largest collection of his work in the world and the fact that he was an Eastbourne man, Eric Ravilious is always popular. He proved a big draw when the Friends recently welcomed writer and historian, James Russell to the Gold Room in the Winter Garden to share his knowledge about the shops featured in Ravilious’ seminal book, High Street.

The book, published 70 years ago, featured lithographs of 24 high street shops of the late 1930s and James Russell has been on a quest to identify and locate the shops – all real places but, in many cases, offering only tantalising clues as to their name or location. Only 2000 copies of the book were printed and what is left of remaining copies are much sought after, particularly as the lithographic plates were destroyed during the Blitz. Now, the Mainstone Press of Norwich has published a new limited edition entitled The Story of High Street, which reveals James Russell’s findings.

Lecturer and authority on Ravilious, Dr Alan Powers placed the book in historical context, sharing new and significant insights into its conception, production and publication. Two other experts, Christopher Whittick – the Ravilious archivist at East Sussex Record Office – and Tim Mainstone of Mainstone Press, also made contributions to this engrossing evening.

■ Go to www.the mainstonepress.com for more about The Story of High Street

Where was the Grill Room?

2009-04-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

In the Story of High Street we have tried to locate the whereabouts of Ravilious's 24 businesses and shop fronts. One of the locations that proved elusive was the 'Restaurant and Grill Room'. Does anyone recognise this restaurant/grill room with it's distinctive five or six sided skylight? J. M. Richards, the author of High Street tells us that ... "All the pictures are of real shops, though they are not in fact all in the same street. Most of them are in London, but except for those of a very specialized kind - such as the shop that sells fire-engines and the one that sells diving suits - you could find shops like these in almost any big enough town". So where was this London restaurant? We would be delighted if anyone could provide a definitive location.

Wallpaper Review

2009-01-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

The Story of High Street has been reviewed in the book section of Wallpaper's online magazine - see: http://www.wallpaper.com/books/book-the-story-of-high-street/2897

Eric Ravilious Book Launch

2008-11-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

We are having a book launch for Eric Ravilious: The Story of High Street at The Fine Art Society, 148 New Bond Street, London W1 on Wednesday 3 December. Our two authors Alan Powers and james Russell will be available to sign copies of the book.

Please come along between 6 - 8 pm - we look forward to seeing you!

Eric Ravilious: The Story of High Street

2008-11-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

Seventy years ago Country Life Books published High Street, a children’s book of shops, featuring twenty-four exquisite lithographs by the English artist Eric Ravilious (1903-1942). Although the book was not a limited edition, the destruction of the lithographic plates during the Blitz meant that only 2000 copies were ever printed. Subsequently High Street has become one of the most highly-prized artist’s books of its time, indeed so great is the demand for work by Eric Ravilious that damaged copies are often taken apart and the plates sold individually as prints.

In this context the Mainstone Press is pleased to announce the publication, in early December 2008, of The Story of High Street. This new limited edition includes not only the original shop fonts and text of High Street but also two extensive essays and an eclectic range of illustrations, preparatory drawings and sketches, many of them published for the first time.

In a substantial and wide-ranging examination of the making of High Street, art historian Dr Alan Powers places the book in historical context, giving new and significant insights into its conception, production and publication.

Initially Ravilious approached the Golden Cockerel Press with his ‘alphabet of shops’, but the book, with text by J.M. Richards, was eventually published by Noel Carrington, brother of the artist Dora Carrington and editor at Country Life Books. His enthusiasm for autolithography and children’s books - he also launched the famous Puffin Picture Book series - made him the ideal publisher for High Street, although Ravilious also benefited from the invaluable support of the Curwen Press.

In the second essay, writer and historian James Russell describes a quest to identify and locate each of the shops depicted by Ravilious. These twenty-four businesses were, as J. M. Richards pointed out in the foreword to the 1938 book, all real places, but in many cases we are given only tantalising clues as to their name or location. So where were they, those shops that, more than any other, attracted the artist’s attention? Do they still exist?

You can still buy cheese at Paxton and Whitfield, a shop that has changed little in appearance over the years, but in most other cases the quest has proved much harder, and more rewarding. Each shop, it soon transpires, is a gateway that will lead us into a new realm of historical, biographical or artistic discovery, as we follow the clues left by artist, writer and friends.

In The Story of High Street we trace the journey Ravilious took to create his idiosyncratic masterpiece, discovering the people he met on the way and finding out what became of the shops themselves. Although we do not know whether Ravilious intended to create a historical document, he nevertheless left us with a brightly coloured snapshot of England on the eve of World War Two, a unique portrait of a nation of shopkeepers. Exploring the fate of his twenty-four shops, The Story of High Street offers an intriguing commentary on that nation’s subsequent history.

Book Specifications

Eric Ravilious: The Story of High Street

A limited edition of 750 copies

288 pages

Page size 265 x 195 mm

Full cloth binding with a decorative label

Publication 8 December 2008

ISBN: 978-0955277726

£160 + carriage

For further details please contact the Mainstone Press - info@themainstonepress.com

Bawden & Fortnum's Book Launch

2007-11-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

Finally our new book has been printed and will be back from the bindery on Tuesday!

Entertaining a la carte: Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious will be launched on Wednesday December 5th at the Fine Art Society, New Bond Street, London - 6-8 pm. The launch coincides with the new exhibition: A Breath of Fresh Air: Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious & Douglas Percy Bliss.

For an invitation or further details please contact The Mainstone Press - info@themainstonepress.com

Edward Bawden at Fortnum & Mason

2007-10-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

ENTERTAINING A LA CARTE
A new book from The Mainstone Press

Fortnum & Mason and Edward Bawden (1903-1989) were unlikely partners: one a firm devoted to luxury provisions and lavish entertaining, the other an acutely shy and retiring artist who preferred work to pleasure. In spite of these differences, however, their relationship spanned half a century and inspired Bawden to produce some of his finest commercial work.

As Fortnum & Mason enters its fourth century, this book brings together for the first time the advertising material that Bawden illustrated for the firm in the years before and after World War II. Full of humour and joie de vivre, this stunning body of work includes a diverse range of seasonal catalogues, brochures, menu cards, order forms and envelopes, all of which are now highly sought after by collectors of Bawden’s work and Fortnum’s ephemera.

All the illustrations were sourced from the archives of Fortnum & Mason and are displayed chronologically, from the early commissions handled by the Stuart Advertising Agency to the inventive catalogues produced in the 1950s by Colman, Prentis and Varley.

To introduce the illustrations and set them in context, the book begins with an engaging and informative essay by Peyton Skipwith, a former Director of The Fine Art Society and a good friend of the artist. Peyton discusses the relationship between Fortnum & Mason and its most famous artistic champion, exploring both the history of the firm and the artist’s career. He presents the significant players in this fascinating drama, notably Fortnum’s entrepreneurial Managing Director Colonel Charles Wyld and advertising guru Hugh Stuart Menzies, who first brought the unlikely partners together.

If the world’s favourite English emporium is famous for promoting a love of good things, Edward Bawden is the artist who best captured that spirit. The following pages celebrate a wonderful collaboration.

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Further information: Tim Mainstone, Mainstone Press, Sparham, Norwich NR9 5PR
Tel: 01362 688395 or email: info@themainstonepress.comOctober 2007

The Greenwich Posters that were never made...

2007-08-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

Greenwich Observatory & Greenwich Pier, 1937

Seventy years ago, Eric Ravilious was asked by Christian Barman the Publicity Manager of London Transport to submit ideas for a poster encouraging travel to Greenwich. Ravilious produced two watercolours, one of Greenwich Pier at Night and the other of Greenwich Observatory - both of which were purchased by LT but never used due to the start of the Second World War. We are delighted to announce that The Mainstone Press has been granted permission to publish both watercolours as fine art limited editions. Both subjects are now available, each in an edition size of 500 copies. These have been individually numbered by hand and are presented in an attractive off-white acid free mount. Please email us for further details - info@themainstonepress.com

Away we go! Our first book

2007-08-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

Published in April 2006, Away we go! celebrates the stunning black and white illustrations Ravilious and Bawden produced for London Transport’s Press Advertising Department in the 1920s and 30s. Their work was used to promote a variety of cultural, sporting and leisure activities, all of which could be reached by Underground or Green Line coach. Beautifully designed by Brian Webb, the book features two essays, one by Oliver Green, Head Curator of London’s Transport Museum and the other by Art Historian, Dr Alan Powers. The show coincided with an exhibition in Saffron Walden at the Fry Art Gallery - a wonderful venue that often shows the work of both artists.

A chance discovery...

2007-08-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Since discovering the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne's enchanting Manor Gardens, we have been captivated by the work of Eric Ravilious and subsequently that of his good friend, Edward Bawden. Some years later, this interest resulted in our first book - Away we go! - which celebrated the black and white illustrations both artists produced for London Transport. Following publication, we have had enquiries from Bawden and Ravilious enthusiasts asking about future projects and this occasional blog aims to keep everyone in the picture. We hope it will also be used by similar enthusiasts who may wish to pass on their thoughts about the work of these two influential and popular artists.

A Ravilious & Bawden Blog

Book of the week - comes with a free teabag!

Delighted to see that Ravilious in Pictures - A Country Life - has been voted book of the week by Much Ado Books, the wonderful independent and award-winning bookshop in Alfriston, East Sussex. Do call in if you are passing and say hello - you will get a very friendly welcome...

The Oldie

Country Life...

One Lump or Two

London Review of Books

Stella, 21 Nov 2010. Page 68

EDWARD BAWDEN EVENING IN LONDON

And the answers are...

1. Coastal Defences2. Midnight Sun3. Runway Perspective4. Dangerous Work at Low Tide5. No.1 Map Corridor6. A Warship in Dock7. Barrage Balloons outside a British Port8. Ship's Screw on a Railway Truck9. Corporal Stediford's Mobile Pigeon Loft

For anyone who would like to buy a copy of the book - it goes on sale next week.

Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings - available very soon...

Can you handle the Ravilious challenge?

Coming soon... the next book in the trilogy.

The War Paintings competition

The Art Newspaper - book review

Ravilious Competition

New from the Mainstone Press...

Can you crack the Ravilious code?

Calling all Ravilious Fans...Book signing

Ravilious Press Release

Story of High Street Reviewed in Parenthesis

Book reviews Parenthesis 18

The Friends of the Towner

Vote for the Towner!

www.artfundprize.org.uk/2010/vote/

Tirzah Ravilious and the Women of Bardfield

London Review Bookshop

Eastern Daily Press - London Diary

Stella Loves - Sunday Telegraph

And the answers are...

Can you handle the Ravilious challenge...

Eric Ravilious - Chalk hill figures, Cement works, Sussex and the Downs

Coming Soon...

A Walk along High Street

Where was the Grill Room?

Wallpaper Review

Eric Ravilious Book Launch

Eric Ravilious: The Story of High Street

Bawden & Fortnum's Book Launch

Edward Bawden at Fortnum & Mason

The Greenwich Posters that were never made...

Away we go! Our first book

A chance discovery...

1. Coastal Defences
2. Midnight Sun
3. Runway Perspective
4. Dangerous Work at Low Tide
5. No.1 Map Corridor
6. A Warship in Dock
7. Barrage Balloons outside a British Port
8. Ship's Screw on a Railway Truck
9. Corporal Stediford's Mobile Pigeon Loft