Posters from the Steam Age

About

‘Posters from the Steam Age’ on the GWSR – 10th and 11th July 2021

·      Celebrating the Centenary of Laurence Fish, Britain’s last great poster artist

·      Art of this Gloucestershire artist’s railway and aviation work displayed

·      Book signing: ‘Pick Up a Pencil: The Work of Laurence Fish’ by Jean Bray

WINCHCOMBE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE 09 JUNE 2021: The work of acclaimed artist Laurence Fish, whose studio was latterly in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, will be celebrated at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway’s (GWSR) Winchcombe station over the weekend of 10th and 11th July*.  The event was postponed from last year, thanks to Coronavirus.

Three new short films by local cinematographer Richard Suckling, celebrating the railway and aviation art of Laurence Fish, will also be screened during the event.

Laurence Fish was the last of a long line of celebrated artists commissioned to create art to promote compelling destinations served by rail on outdoor posters.  His images, produced in the 1960s as the age of steam was coming to an end, were displayed throughout the UK and Europe and are now sought-after collectors’ items.  They are evocative reminders of the days when many families enjoyed travelling by train to their holiday resorts.

Laurence Fish, who became one of the most versatile artists of the 20th century, started his artistic career designing coachwork for bespoke coupé and saloon cars for the likes of Alvis, Bentley and Delahaye.  During the War, his illustrative skills were sought after, particularly in counter-sabotage work for MI5 – producing sectional drawings showing the internal workings of lethal explosive devices and booby-trapped bombs to enable them to be safely detected and defused.  Some of these drawings, including an exploding bar of chocolate, will be displayed during the event at Winchcombe station on 10th and 11th July.

After the War, Laurence Fish went on to an acclaimed career as a commercial artist, skilfully creating almost photographic-quality images of aircraft for magazines and aircraft makers as well as scenes promoting industry including oil, civil engineering and, of course, rail travel.                                   

Says Jean Bray, the late artist’s wife who is putting on the show in conjunction with the GWSR: “It was in poster art for British Railways that Laurence perhaps made his mark with some stunning if idealised paintings of holiday destinations, frequently featuring attractive ‘pin-up’ girls.  That would never be permitted today!

“Most were produced in full colour while he created compelling duo-tone images too, for example promoting the Pullman services of the Southern Region. 

“Such posters were a very familiar sight throughout the country but originals are extremely rare today and often command four-figure sums at specialist railwayana or art auctions.  One of his posters won the 1960 National Outdoor Advertising Award.”

Jean Bray has produced a beautiful fine-art book: ‘Pick Up a Pencil’, crammed with hundreds of reproductions of Laurence Fish’s commercial as well as fine art in watercolour and oils.  She will be signing copies of the book during the event.

She adds: “Laurence was a romantic with an eager, inquiring mind which really translated into his art.  Nevertheless, he was also quite a modest and private man which is perhaps why he isn’t as well-known as he should be.”

Richard Johnson, chairman of GWSR Plc which operates the popular Cheltenham Racecourse-Broadway heritage railway commented: “I’m thrilled that we can do a little to promote the work of Laurence Fish through the ‘Posters from the Steam Age’ exhibition, especially as during his later years his studio was in Winchcombe.

“It’s unlikely that his posters appeared on our railway stations as they had closed from 1960 just as Laurence’s work was being widely commissioned by British Railways, so this is a chance to right that omission!”

The event is free to enter and takes place in the new Tim Mitchell building on Platform 1 of Winchcombe Station.  As car parking is very limited, it is best to travel by train to Winchcombe station – just as Laurence Fish’s posters urged people to do – from Cheltenham Racecourse, Toddington or Broadway. Full details of train services and fares can be found on www.gwsr.com.

* While it is expected that Covid-19 restrictions will have been lifted by early July, the show is nevertheless dependent on any further Government guidance on public events.

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PICTURES HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/obgwd8jtv3lj5i9/AADTCp7deRsgo1cyMhzaBhiRa?dl=0

Media contacts:

GWSR: Ian Crowder, 07775 566 555 or press.office@gwsr.com

Catherine Johnson, 07920 406630 or marketing.manager@gwsr.com

Laurence Fish:  Jean Bray, 07794 736772 or jean@tudorhouse.free-online.co.uk

ABOUT GLOUCESTERSHIRE WARWICKSHIRE STEAM RAILWAY

The award-winning Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) operates over 14 miles through the Cotswolds between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway.  Because of Covid-19 restrictions, the railway has been op-erating round trips when permitted under government guidance only from Toddington station, bookable in advance until early July and subject to any further Covid-19 restrictions.  Turn-up-and-go tickets have been available subject to space being available on trains.  Services have and continue to reflect prevailing Government guidelines. The GWSR is on part of the former Great Western Railway route between the West Midlands and Bristol, South Wales and the West Country.  The line between Cheltenham and Stratford-upon Avon closed in 1976 and the infrastructure was removed in 1979, the formative GWSR beginning to rebuild the line 40 years ago in 1981.

ABOUT LAWRENCE FISH

Laurence Fish was born in 1919 and trained as an illustrator in Max Millar’s studio at Iliffe & Son, publishers specialising in technical subjects such as aircraft, boats and cars and in the process developed an enviable skill for meticulous draughtsmanship.  It was this skill which led to war service with the RAF, when he was seconded to MI5 to specialise in illustrations of explosive devices to aid defusing and dismantling of booby-trapped bombs for example – doubtless saving many lives in the process.  Following hostilities, he became a founder member of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers and became internationally known as a painter and illustratior.  His work was widely commissioned including poster work for British Railways, for whom he won ‘Poster of the Year’.  Latterly he worked in magazine illustration and graphic design going on to concentrate on painting full-time from the 1980s, his work being widely exhibited at the Royal Academy and many national and provincial galleries.  For the last 15 years of his life he worked from a studio in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire and was married to Jean Bray for 40 years.  He passed away in 2019.

Jean Bray has published beautiful book of his work: Pick up a Pencil she will be signing copies at the forthcoming exhibition to celebrate his life and his work at the GWSR’s Winchcombe station, July 10-11 2021.

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