Last week, we were introduced to the brilliant work of Bernard Cheese through an upcoming auction of 20th century art at Prior Park in Bath. Bernard Cheese (1925-2013) was a British artist, printmaker and illustrator. He studied at Beckenham School of Art followed by the Royal College of Art between 1947 & 50. It was at the latter where his teachers included Edward Bawden.
Cheese was a tutor in printmaking at St. Martin’s School of Art during the 1950s & 60s, was a lecturer at Goldsmith’s College in the 70s and the Central School of Art and Design in the 80s.
He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (previously the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers).
As part of the 1951 Festival of Britain – working with Bawden – he painted a mural on the Lambeth Lead Works Shot Tower. The tower was demolished in 1962 and the Queen Elizabeth Hall was erected on its site. In the same year, he produced the Pantomimes & Circuses poster for London Transport.
His work can be found in the permanent collections of the V&A, Tate Britain, Fry Art Gallery and Nottingham City Museums & Galleries. Apparently, The School of Art at Aberystwyth University owns 87 prints and 12 watercolours by Bernard Cheese, some of which were donated by the artist in June 2002, creating the largest public collection of his work and representing over four decades in Cheese’s career.
Prints of Cheese’s work and books that he has illustrated can be purchased from Amazon, eBay, Etsy , Hayletts Gallery and The Bookroom Art Press.
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Additional image credits:
Art UK | Wotton Auction Rooms