Second Nature: The Art of Barry Tunnicliffe RA

Lovely exhibition at the Royal Academy of work by the wildlife illustrator Barry Tunnicliffe.

I realised quite quickly that I knew Tunnicliffe’s work well from Ladybird books and Brook Bond Tea cards from my youth and it was lovely to see original art work for both of those. I loved a set of prints recording the farming methods which were disappearing with a rather Flemish feel to them.

I was interested to read that the fine prints market had collapsed when the Depression set in in the late 1920s and never really recovered which is why Tunnicliffe moved into book illustration and other areas of work. He was elected to the Royal Academy as a print maker not a watercolourist which he was later more known for displaying in the Summer Exhibitions.

My favourite print was of a horse fair and was full of clear figures which filled the space.

Closed on 8 October 2017

 

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