In 1925 the artists Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious moved to the Essex village of Great Bardfield, at first sharing lodgings. Over the course of several years and encouraged by Bawden and Ravilious' work, other artists came to live in the village, forming a community of artists and designers that has continued to the present. Among the first to join them were the Rowntrees, Kenneth and Diana, and Michael Rothenstein and his wife Duffy Ayers. They were followed by John Aldridge, painter and designer of wallpapers (printed, like Bawden's papers, by the Curwen Press); Walter Hoyle, printmaker and also a wallpaper designer; Marianne Straub, textile designer and weaver; illustrators and printmakers Bernard Cheese and his wife Sheila Robinson. Though the careers of Bawden and Ravilious are well-documented, many of the other artists are less well-known but equally talented, such as George Chapman, Stanley Clifford-Smith and Laurence Scarfe.This book tells the story of Great Bardfield and its artists, and their famous 'open house' exhibitions, showing how the village and neighbouring landscape nurtured a distinctive style of art, design and illustration from the 1930s to the 1970s and beyond. '..their shared artistic legacy is immediately obvious from this beautiful book.' --Country Life 16th 23rd December 2015'..Beautifully designed.' --Evening Standard 24th December 2015'..splendidly illustrated' -- The Spectator, 28th November 2015

Art Deco by the Sea is a major new book and exhibition examining British coastal culture between the First and Second World Wars. Beautifully illustrated, the book will trace how the British seaside changed during a new age of mass tourism. It will examine how coastal resorts developed and how the networks of transport that serviced them - by road, rail and sea - were modernised. The book will celebrate iconic examples of Art Deco architecture, from hotels and apartment blocks to piers, cinemas and sea fronts and will show how Art Deco became the key style for pleasure and entertainment. It will also feature seaside companies including Poole Pottery, E.K. Cole Ltd and Crysede known for their striking modern designs. The book will also explore how the seaside changed during the 1920s and 30s with the advent of the heathy body culture, when sunbathing, swimming and a host of other outdoor activities became fashionable. The development of amenities such as lidos and golf courses changed the look of seaside resorts while holiday camps such as Butlin's provided new types of holiday experience. The book will feature Deco fashions and the more ephemeral and popular culture of the seaside from theatre performances, circuses, fairgrounds, casinos and fun fairs.

A beautiful and informative gift book devoted to Edward Bawden's representations of England. Edward Bawden (1903-1989) was a printmaker, painter, illustrator and designer. He studied and later taught at the Royal College of art, served as a war artist in WW2 and worked extensively as a commercial artist for companies including London Transport, Fortnum and Mason, Shell-Mex, the Folio Society and Chatto and Windus. Aside from the years he spent in France, the Middle East and North Africa while serving as a war artist, and later visits to Canada and Ireland, Bawden rarely travelled far from home, but found inspiration in the fields and farms of his native Essex, at the seaside, and in classic London scenes: Kew Gardens, the Royal Parks, the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral, and the iron-and-glass monuments to Victorian engineering such as Liverpool Street station and the markets in Spitalfields and Smithfield. This book celebrates England as represented by Bawden in 85 works held in the V&A's collection, including prints, posters, drawings, paintings, murals and advertising material. The illustrations include such early pieces as his poster Map of the British Empire for an exhibition in 1924; his mural English Garden Delights, designed for the Orient Line Navigation Company in 1946; illustrations for books including Good Food, The Gardener's Diary and Life in an English Village; advertising work for London Transport, Shell and Fortnum & Mason; the poster Lifeguards, created to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953; and a varied selection of linocuts and watercolours. As this book demonstrates, it was England, with its quiet landscapes, its pleasures and pastimes, its history and ceremonies, its traditions and recreations, that was the source of Bawden's finest and most engaging work.

The Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund has enabled purchases by such art world stars as Damien Hirst, Julian Opie, Chris Ofili, Grayson Perry and Rachel Whiteread to name but a few. The collection is also home of a wide range of other print acquisitions that encompass everything from topographical prints, fashion plates, wallpapers and caricatures to posters, packaging and playing cards, as well as prints by street artists, and often challenging contemporary prints and multiples. This book includes an illustrated introduction that gives the background of the collection and describes the rationale behind the collecting - as well as highlighting the important contributions that the Breckman Fund acquisitions have made to the V&A's programme of exhibitions, displays and galleries.

Even in the digital age, the printed poster retains an important, much-loved role in connecting with audiences in a way that both entertains and informs. The V&A was one of the first museums to start collecting posters and to recognize the importance of doing so. Far from ephemeral, posters are both a representation of the time in which they were produced and distributed and, in many instances, have shaped the societies in which they were seen. The story of the poster is both one of changing styles and new innovations in design, illustration and printing, and a visually compelling social history. The Poster brings together over 300 examples that tell a comprehensive visual history of poster design and the various ways the poster has been used to tell, to sell, to charm and to spur on change. Organized into seven thematic chapters that tell the story of the poster as a medium, each poster is accompanied by a concise commentary that explains the work in terms of its design, printing, content, message and the commercial, social or political impact it may have had. Featuring works by the masters of poster design that have become popular and highly collectible classics, charting the ebb and flow of styles such as Art Nouveau, Modernism, Art Deco, Psychedelia and Punk and featuring the nostalgic glow of muchloved brands as well as posters that shook and changed the world, The Poster will be an essential visual resource for graphic designers and illustrators - a reference for anyone with an interest in collecting posters and an engaging design and social history for all who appreciate this most popular of art forms.

Print has always been an art form for everyone - relatively cheap to produce and easy to distribute, and intended to be accessible to all. It links to painting, and creative autographic expression, as well as to a tradition of satire and protest, both social and political. Above all, prints are a means of communication and cultural exchange and, in the context of Africa and the African diaspora, these qualities have had a particular resonance. The book covers the period from 1960, presenting and interpreting a variety of visual images from the V&A collections in terms of their political and social context, while also addressing their identity as art and design. It includes prints by Uzo Egonu, Carrie Mae Weems and Chris Ofili among others, as well as overtly political work, such as posters attacking the Apartheid policies of South Africa and material produced by American Black Power organizations.

From the restorative retreat of a palm-lined beach to the brisk breeze of Bridlington, holidaying by the sea is a pastime that's hard to beat. For over a century, be it by boat, by train, by car or by plane, we've flocked to the coast at home and abroad. Once essential advertisements, these stylish vintage posters now present a picturesque glimpse into the Golden Age of travel in the first half of the twentieth century. With 30 detachable posters, this lovingly curated collection, drawn from the V&A's renowned archive, is a celebration of a great tradition: the summer getaway. Whether you crave a leisurely luxury cruise or design inspiration, these gorgeous posters will earn their place on your wall. Packed with design classics, from striking art deco to the elegantly painterly, this poster set is an invaluable itinerary to transport you back to the sun, sea and sand.

Recording Britain was an artistic documentary project sponsored by the British government in the late 1930s as the country faced the potentially devastating impact of a second world war. The resulting collection of more than 1,500 watercolors and drawings, by both well-known and amateur artists, is a rich visual record of buildings, landscapes, and livelihoods perceived to be under threat. "Recording Britain "brings together highlights from this extraordinary collection at the V&A, vivid images of national and regional identity that often portray an idealized account of the country for which its audience, at the time, was fighting. The pictures are discussed in relation to contemporary British artists and photographers such as John Virtue, Conrad Atkinson, Richard Long, and Laura Oldfield Ford, whose work also reflects on a sense of place.