The Royal West of England Academy is opening a new exhibition this Saturday – Eric Ravilious: Going Modern/Being British.
The two pics above from our collection - Hams and The Clerical Outfitter - form part of his 'High Street' series, widely admired for their portrayal of a quintessential, provincial pre-war England.
Ravilious created 24 ‘High Street’ lithographs in 1936 and 1937, drawing directly on the stone in the studios of the Curwen Press. They were originally designed for a children’s ‘book of shops’ by Country Life Books, and since the lithographic plates were destroyed during the blitz, only 2000 copies were ever printed.
Paul Laity in the Guardian recently described Ravilious’ watercolours as being ‘more popular than ever’, perhaps due to their charm and the friendly feeling of nostalgia they inspire. Yet he also wrote that ‘the secret of their appeal lies partly in their complex relationship with modernism’
Look at the patterns formed by those hams, stacked together with deliberate consideration for form and colour. Or through the window of the clerical outfitter where the vestments greet us with something of the surreal.
Ravilious certainly knew how to chronicle the details of British life, but as this new exhibition in Bristol aims to show, his artistic vision was far from parochial.
Other shops for sale in our Ravilious High Street collection are:
Theatrical Properties, Coach Builder (below), Hardware, Saddler & Harness Maker, Undertaker, Family Butcher & Second hand furniture and effects.
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