Edward Bawden facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edward Bawden
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Painting of Bawden in his studio, by Eric Ravilious, 1930
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| Born | 10 March 1903 Braintree, Essex, England
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| Died | 21 November 1989 (aged 86) Saffron Walden, Essex, England
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| Known for | Painter, illustrator, graphic artist |
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Notable work
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| Movement | Great Bardfield Artists |
| Awards | RA, CBE, RDI |
Edward Bawden (born March 10, 1903 – died November 21, 1989) was a famous English artist. He was a painter, illustrator, and graphic designer. He was known for his amazing prints, book covers, and posters. He even designed garden furniture!
Bawden taught art at the Royal College of Art, where he used to be a student himself. He also worked as a commercial artist, creating designs for many companies. During World War II, he served as a war artist, drawing what he saw. He was a master of watercolour painting but used many other art forms too. He illustrated several books and painted large murals in the 1930s and 1960s. Many other artists admired his work.
Contents
Becoming an Artist: Edward Bawden's Early Life
Edward Bawden was born in Braintree, Essex, England, on March 10, 1903. He was the only child of Edward and Eleanor Bawden. His father was an ironmonger, selling metal goods. Edward was a quiet child who loved to draw. He also enjoyed exploring nature with a butterfly net and microscope.
When he was seven, he started school at Braintree High School. He spent time copying drawings of cats by Louis Wain. He also copied pictures from magazines and illustrations from old books. Later, his parents sent him to the Friends' School in Saffron Walden. When he was fifteen, his headmaster suggested he study art one day a week at the Cambridge School of Art.
Art School Days: Cambridge and London
After leaving school in 1919, Bawden went to Cambridge School of Art full-time until 1921. There, he became interested in beautiful handwriting, called calligraphy. He also admired the work of famous Victorian artists like Aubrey Beardsley and William Morris.
In 1922, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London. He studied illustration there until 1925. At the college, he met another talented student, Eric Ravilious. Their teacher, Paul Nash, called them "an extraordinary outbreak of talent."
Edward Bawden's First Artworks and Designs
During his early career, Bawden created some interesting designs. In 1928, he made special tiles for the London Underground. These tiles were shown at a big exhibition in London.
Painting Murals and Commercial Art
In 1928, Bawden was asked to paint a large mural for Morley College in London. He worked on this with Eric Ravilious and Charles Mahoney. A mural is a big painting on a wall. This mural was finished in 1930.
By 1930, Bawden also started working for the Curwen Press one day a week. He created illustrations for many well-known companies. These included London Transport, Westminster Bank, Twinings tea, and Penguin Books. He also made funny and creative designs for Fortnum & Mason and Imperial Airways.
Life in Great Bardfield
In 1932, Bawden married Charlotte Epton, who was also an artist. They had two children, Joanna and Richard, who both became artists too. They first lived in London but soon moved to a house in Great Bardfield, Essex. This village was close to where Bawden grew up.
Living in the countryside, Bawden started painting more. He improved his watercolour skills, often painting scenes around Great Bardfield. He had art shows in 1934 and 1938 to display his paintings. In 1938, he worked with another artist, John Aldridge, to design wallpapers. They cut the designs into lino blocks by hand.
One of Bawden's most famous designs from this time was for The Observer newspaper. He created the 'Puzzled Lion and Startled Unicorn' image around 1939. This design was used by the newspaper for 50 years!
Edward Bawden: A War Artist's Journey
During World War II, Edward Bawden became an official war artist. This meant he traveled with the British army to draw and paint what he saw. He was first in France, where he drew defenses and witnessed bombings. He also saw the evacuation from Dunkirk.
Adventures in North Africa and Beyond
After France, he went to North Africa. He painted landscapes and portraits in places like Libya, Sudan, and Ethiopia. In May 1941, he reached Addis Ababa. In early 1942, he traveled to Palestine and Lebanon.
He then made drawings of the Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq. After this, he was called back to London. He started his journey home by ship. But on September 12, 1942, his ship, the RMS Laconia, was torpedoed and sunk.
Survival and More War Art
Bawden spent five days in an open lifeboat before being rescued by a French ship. He was held as a prisoner in a camp in Casablanca for two months. American troops later freed the camp. From there, he sailed to America.
When he finally returned to Britain, Bawden painted portraits at a military hospital. He also worked with Polish forces training in Scotland. In September 1943, he went back to Iraq. He worked in Baghdad and Kurdistan. He even joined an anti-locust unit, traveling to Jeddah. He then returned to the Marsh Arabs before going to Iran to draw supply shipments to the Soviet Union.
Bawden came back to England in 1944. For a short time, he painted at Southampton Docks. He then went to Yugoslavia, but couldn't enter. So he went to Ravenna, Greece, Austria, and Florence. He finally returned to England in July 1945, after the war ended.
Edward Bawden's Later Art and Legacy
Bawden lived in Great Bardfield, Essex, from the 1930s until 1970. He was an important member of a group called the Great Bardfield Artists. These artists had different styles but loved art that showed real things, not just abstract shapes. This made them different from other art groups at the time.
Public Art and Exhibitions
In 1949, Bawden illustrated a book called London is London. He also created eleven murals for the first-class lounge of a ship called the SS Oronsay, launched in 1951. The murals showed different English pub names in a visual way. For the Festival of Britain in 1951, he made a mural called English Country Life.
During the 1950s, the Great Bardfield Artists held 'open house' exhibitions. They opened their homes, including Bawden's Brick House, for people to see their art. Thousands of people visited the village for these shows. The artists also held touring exhibitions of their work.
After his wife passed away in 1970, Bawden moved to Saffron Walden. He continued to create art there until he died on November 21, 1989.
Bawden's Lasting Impact
Edward Bawden left about 3,000 of his artworks to The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum in Bedford. His art can be seen in many major collections today. It is also shown regularly at the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden and at The Higgins.
Some of his public artworks that you can still see include a tile at Tottenham Hale tube station. It shows a foot ferry crossing the River Lea. He also created the small, detailed picture of Queen Victoria at Victoria tube station.
A large mural Bawden made for Morley College in the 1930s was destroyed during a bombing raid in the war. However, the rebuilt college has another beautiful mural by him. In 1965, Bawden completed a mural for Queen's University, Belfast.
Teaching and Awards
Edward Bawden taught design and book illustration at Goldsmiths, University of London from 1928 to 1931. He then taught at the Royal College of Art from 1930 to 1963, except during World War II. In 1968, he became a tutor at the Royal Academy Schools. He also taught graphics at the City of Leicester Polytechnic.
He received many important awards and honors throughout his career:
- 1946 – He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
- 1947 – He became an Associate of the Royal Academy of Arts.
- 1949 – He was named a Royal Designer for Industry.
- 1951 – He became a Trustee of the Tate Gallery.
- 1956 – He was elected a Royal Academician.
- 1963 – He became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art.
- 1970 – He received an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Art.
Books by Edward Bawden
Edward Bawden also wrote some books, often with his own illustrations:
- Life in an English Village (1949)
- The English Scene (1952)
- Hold Fast By Your Teeth (1963)
- Travels of a War Artist 1940–45 (1983)
- Edward Bawden, war artist, and his letters home, 1940–1945 (1989)
Images for kids
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In an Air Raid Shelter, Dunkirk—Bombs are dropping. (IWM ART LD239)
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Ravenna – Royal Engineers' working party collecting material for bridge repairs and road making at the Porta Cybo (IWM ART LD4967)
