John Lawrence (illustrator) facts for kids
John Lawrence, born on September 15, 1933, in Hastings, England, is a famous English artist. He is known for his amazing illustrations and for creating art using a special technique called wood engraving. This means he carves pictures into wood blocks to print them.
John Lawrence has won important awards for his artwork, like the Francis Williams Award from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He has also written and illustrated his own children's books. One of his books, This Little Chick, was even named a "Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year" by The New York Times. In 1990, he was the leader of the Art Workers' Guild, a group for artists and craftspeople. Today, he lives in Cambridge.
John Lawrence's Early Life and Learning
John Lawrence was born in Hastings in 1933. He went to Salesian schools, first in Burwash, Sussex, and then in Cowley, Oxfordshire. After that, he studied art at the Hastings School of Art from 1951 to 1953.
After serving in West Africa, he continued his art studies. From 1955 to 1957, he attended the Central School of Art and Design. There, he learned the special skill of wood engraving from a talented artist named Gertrude Hermes.
Teaching Art to Future Artists
In the 1960s, John Lawrence shared his knowledge by teaching art. He taught at the Brighton School of Art. Later, he became a visiting professor of illustration at Camberwell School of Art, where he taught until 1993.
He also taught at the Cambridge School of Art until 2010. There, he gave lectures for students studying for their Master's degree in Children's Book Illustration. He helped many young artists learn how to create pictures for books.
Amazing Book Illustrations
John Lawrence has illustrated more than 200 books! These books include stories for both adults and children. He has worked on books by famous writers like Shakespeare and Alan Ahlberg.
Some of his most well-known illustrations are for the best-selling book Watership Down by Richard Adams. More recently, he worked with the author Philip Pullman. He created all the pictures for Pullman's books Lyra's Oxford and Once Upon a Time in the North.
You can find his amazing artwork in several museums and collections. These include the Ashmolean Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Seven Stories in Newcastle.
