MASTER OF THE BURIN: THE BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS OF JOHN BUCKLAND WRIGHT, 1897-1954 (PART 3)

"In the 1930's, 1940's and early 1950's, three artists did a great deal to launch British engraving into the exciting waters of contemporary European art:  the New Zealander John Buckland Wright and two Englishmen, William Hayter and Stanley Gross.  They all had French attachments and were quite independent of the influences of earlier and highly successful schools of British engraving.  Buckland Wright helped Hayter to found his famous Atelier 17 in Paris.  At this workshop in which artists experimented at novel methods of printmaking, JBW (as he became known by his initials) worked with artists such as Matisse, Chagall, Picasso, Miro and Dali.  Later when teaching at the Camberwell and Slade Schools of Art, he was able to communicate to his pupils his experiences of how these artists worked."

"If William Hayter described himself as a 'third-class passenger with the Surrealists', JBW was one to hop on and off the train, experimenting with abstract and surreal styles, while not adopting wholeheartedly the method a la Breton.  During 1934 and 1935, he produced a large number of prints, nearly all abstract or surreal, in a style that he claimed was a mix of the 'blood' of realism and the 'brains' of the abstract rhythm.  The subject matter -- images of women entitled Composition or Artist or Model -- were sometimes in copper engraving but more often in wood.  They were characterised by strong lines and clear and precise delineation.  This recent publication, compiled by Christopher Buckland Wright, reveals some of his 'surreal' outputs:  Surreal Times:  The Abstract Engravings and Wartime Letters of John Buckland Wright.  Denby Dale [England]:  The Fleece Press, 2000.

 Note:  Buckland's range, versatility and subtle humor is impressive.  The series of aquatints he created to accompany the Folio Society edition of Boccaccio's The Decameron, translated by Richard Aldington, is highly enjoyable.  A large amount of Buckland's work can be seen and appreciated at the website: http://www.library.otago.ac.nz/exhibitions/jbw/index.html