Work of the Week 17: Sun Maze by Michael Ayrton
bronze, 1970 Sun Maze (1970) is a late double-sided bronze by Michael Ayrton. The myth of Daedalus, Icarus and the labyrinth at Knossos is familiarly told by Ovid in his narrative poem of 8AD and became an obsession of the artist over many years. On one side, Icarus,...
Work of the Week 16: Great Bardfield by John Aldridge
Lithograph, 1951 John Aldridge’s lithograph ‘Great Bardfield’ was part of a series of prints published to celebrate the Festival of Britain by the Artists’ International Association, or AIA, of which Aldridge was a member. The picture is very much in the spirit of...
Work of the Week 15: Pigeon and Clocktower by Edward Bawden
Wallpaper sheet Edward Bawden (1903 – 1989) and John Aldridge (1905 – 1983) collaborated in designing wallpapers in the 1920s. The artists printed them from lino blocks in a small studio at Bawden’s home, but soon the work was entrusted to John Perry & Co (later...
Work of the Week 14: Lifting Beet by Thomas Hennell
Watercolour, 1941 The painter, writer and poet, Thomas Hennell recorded country life in Britain during the 1930’s and 1940’s and several were included in ‘Recording Britain’ (published 1946-49). Hennell arrived in Great Bardfield in 1931 while...