Why the network?

Clearly academic biographers from different disciplines, freelance biographers, and theorists of biography can and do meet – but too often their engagement with each other is haphazard. A research network can consolidate fragile lines of communication across disciplines, between practitioners and theorists, and between scholars and non-academic writers.

How easy to join in?

That was incredibly simple to do. I went to ‘comment’, which prompted me to register. Before too long I was in the WordPress interface (which I’m used to using/is incredibly straightforward anyway), and had posted  short entry re: my artist biographies (always great to be able to share the knowledge that has been collated more widely).

Here are “my” posters again… well, I have written the most about them I’m still watching the programme, and it seems to be mostly about “Art” with a capital A, which many posters are not considered as, but the initial summary shows Presenter Alastair Sooke talking to the Art Dept @ the Imperial War Museum about the Keep Calm and Carry On Posters.

See just before 25 minutes in … straight in with Keep Calm and Carry On… but no mention of the fact that Keep Calm and Carry On was never used, and the great quote I believe I used in my thesis, Times describing ‘Freedom is in Peril’ as ‘patronising & insipid’. YES – the posters are more iconic than much art, because they faced everyone (and his name is Abram Games, not Abraham Games !)…

‘How carelessly we should have talked during the war but for Fougasse.’
Princess Elizabeth in 1950.

In February 1940 the Ministry of Information launched a series of posters called Careless Talk Costs Lives as part of its ‘nation-wide anti-gossip campaign’. From the beginning, the witty and colourful posters by Kenneth Bird, ‘Fougasse’ (1887-1965) which showed Hitler and Goering eavesdropping in the most unlikely places attracted special attention, and seventy years later they remain some of the most memorable images of the Second World War. This exhibition of over 80 works by Fougasse shows how his style became progressively more direct and economical, culminating in his war-time propaganda work. A keen observer of the middle classes, his war-time series on ‘The Changing Face of Britain’ reveals how the conflict transformed British society, especially the role of women and the relations between the classes.

Kenneth Bird was born in London in 1887. His desire to become an artist was discouraged by his father. Instead he decided to train as a civil engineer. During the First World War his spine was shattered by a shell while fighting at Gallipoli in 1915. While convalescing, Bird produced his first published cartoon for Punch from his sickbed in 1916 under the pseudonym ‘Fougasse’ – the name of a small mine which ‘might or might not hit its mark’. He remained a regular contributor to Punch until 1964.

Throughout the 1920s and ‘30s he produced cartoons on themes ranging from sport, motoring, radio and suburban life as well as posters for London Transport, whose messages are still relevant today. His cartooning style became increasingly spare, leaving behind the fussy penmanship and interminable captions of the nineteenth century. In 1937 he became art editor at Punch, updating the look of the magazine and encouraging cartoonists such as Pont, Paul Crum and David Langdon.

During the Second World War, in addition to the Careless Talk posters, Fougasse designed, free of charge, hundreds of posters, leaflets and booklets for nearly every government ministry. All were distinctively framed by his trademark bold red border and used humour in an eye-catching way to get the message across to the public. His war-time work earned him a CBE in 1946.

As the first cartoonist ever to edit Punch (1949-52), he restyled the magazine and encouraged younger contributors such as Ronald Searle, Rowland Emett and Robert Sherriffs. But it is for his war-time work, which entertained and amused while it persuaded and informed, that Fougasse is most fondly remembered by the British public.

The exhibition coincides with the publication of Careless Talk Costs Lives: Fougasse and the Art of Public Information by James Taylor (Conway, £9.99)

For images or more information contact Anita O’Brien or Kate Owens on 020 7631 0793 or info@cartoonmuseum.org

The Cartoon Museum is open Tue- Sat: 10.30 – 17.30; Sun: 12 – 17.30

Admission: Adults £5, Conc £4, Students £3, Free to Under-18s. Nearest tubes: Holborn or Tottenham Court Road

See more on this site on Fougasse: Biography and search. I plan to go to the opening night tomorrow.

Studied at Eastbourne College of Art under Eric Ravilious, Wootton (sometimes mis-spelt Wooton) was a painter of a range of subjects, including landscapes and equestrian subjects, as well as the aviation images that he is best known for. Personally commissioned to do work for the MOI by Edwin Embleton, the Canadian Museum of Flight described Frank Wootton as ‘The Dean of Aviation Art’: ‘A class, traditional painter, his aircraft “fly”; his clouds “move”, and his “mood” is always evident.’. Air Chief Marshal Sir Neil Wheeler commented that Wootton’s painting utilised realistic backgrounds, and ‘leave one with the impression that the aircraft could actually fly’. With a highly realistic style, Wootton took ‘great trouble’ to search for ‘technical and historical accuracy’. He was assigned as an official artist to the Royal Canadian Air Force, and also painted designs for the RAF. He experienced first hand the aircraft, pilots, ground crews, skyscapes and landscapes of the Second World War. A pioneer in ‘aviation art’, his work can be found in museums in Canada, Australia, the UK and the United States. In 1983 he exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, and has an impressive list of awards. In 2002 he was described as a long-standing supporter of RAF Benevolent Fund who had recently completed a painting for the entrance to Lord Dowding House, their sheltered housing project. He was the first aviation artist to have a book published on the subject, and in 2002 he appeared to have no obvious plans to retire. Married to Virginia, living in England, he was still a charter member and past president of the prestigious Guild of Aviation Artists.

See Wootton, F. Frank Wootton: 50 Years of Aviation Art, 1997

Information collated from: Wootton, F., Frank Wootton: 50 Years of Aviation Art, 1997; Questionnaire submitted by Royall, K. to Embleton, E., Royall, K., ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of British Defence’, Unpublished M.A., University of Westminster, 1991, p.123; Canadian Museum of Flight, ‘Art Gallery – Frank Wooton Page’, http://www.canadianflight.org/gallery/fwo_home.htm, last updated 2002, accessed October 4 2003

Information collated from: Anonymous, ‘Surely these Posters Must Prevent Accidents?’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 127, No. 1,660, March 15 1945, p.378; Anonymous, ‘How Specialised Angle Helps Safety Posters’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 122, No. 1,594, December 9 1943, p.256

Injured at other points in the war, he moved between the battlefront and the UK, working on paintings whilst recuperating. Whilst recuperating he was recruited to the War Artists Scheme for the MOI, but the Armistice meant that the contract was not taken up. Williamson became a respected artist after the war, designing posters for LT, and showing work at the RA, the New English Art Club, the London Group and many other galleries. Between 1930 and 1958 he was Headmaster at the Chelsea School of Art, employing Henry Moore as head of a new sculpture department in 1932. Well known as a British poster artist, Williamson was a ‘great admirer of William Roberts whom he had employed at Chelsea as a supervisor of drawing’, and of Ceri Richards. He was devoted to classical music and Radio Three. The IWM owns several of his works from when he was official war artist on the Western Front in the First World War, ‘with a particular emphasis on the depiction of the role played by animals’.

Information collated from: Imperial War Museum, ‘The First World War letters and paintings of
Harold Sandys Williamson’, http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/fww_rem/fww-art.htm, accessed September 21 2003; Imperial War Museum, ‘The First World War letters and paintings of Harold Sandys Williamson’ (Page 2), http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/fww_rem/fww-art2.htm, accessed September 21 2003; Imperial War Museum, ‘The First World War letters and paintings of Harold Sandys Williamson’ (Page 8), http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/fww_rem/fww-art8.htm, accessed September 21 2003; Consignia, ‘Heritage Collection’, http://www.consignia.com/heritage/html/transport/left/airmail.htm; http://www.consignia.com/heritage/html/transport/left/packet_boats.htm, accessed October 3 2003.; Fineart.ac.uk, ‘Henry Moore’, http://fineart.ac.uk/artists/102/, accessed October 3 2003; Brighton School of Art and Design, ‘Archive Vicky’, http://www.adh.brighton.ac.uk/schoolofdesign/MA.COURSE/01/LIAWilliamson.html, accessed October 3 2003.

Norman Wilkinson was born in Cambridge, educated at Berkhamsted and St Paul’s, and studied art at Portsmouth and Southsea Schools of Art. Wilkinson did early work for the Illustrated London News and worked for them until he entered the Royal Navy [in] World War I. Wilkinson designed the successful multi-coloured ‘dazzle camouflage’ in 1917, used by the Royal Navy and adopted by the US Navy in 1918. After the war he emerged as ‘one of the best known poster designers in the country’, working for shipping and railway companies. He was a keen yachtsman but also very interested in aviation and during World War II he served in the RAF.

He is best remembered as a maritime artist, and also designed posters for other railway companies including the RA series of posters for the LMS in 1924. He also worked for the Illustrated London News and Illustrated Mail. In the late 1930s The London Midland and Scottish Railway Company commissioned from Norman Wilkinson, PRI, a series of posters featuring famous public schools of England and Wales. Wilkinson was elected President of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, and in that capacity wrote a noted letter to The Times. He was also a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. Wilkinson was personally commissioned to do work for the MOI by Embleton, Edwin. He was still designing posters in the 1950s.

Information taken from: Old Stoic Society, http://www.stoweschool.org/ossociety/news/, accessed September 22 2003, ‘Luxury Liners of the Past’, ‘Postcard Artists’, http://www.geocites.com/luxury_liners/Artists.html, accessed October 03 2003, Raven, A., ‘The Development of Naval Camouflage’, http://www.shipcamouflage.com/1_4.htm, accessed September 22 2003, ‘More War Posters Wanted’, Advertiser’s Weekly, September 28 1939, p.324, Letter from Wilkinson, N. to The Times, ‘A Task for Artists’, The Times, September 25 1939, Rennies Vintage Posters, ‘Norman Wilkinson’, http://www.rennart.co.uk/wilkinson.html, accessed September 22 2003, Questionnaire submitted by Royall, K. to Embleton, E., Royall, K., ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of British Defence’, Unpublished M.A., University of Westminster, 1991, p.123, The Vintage Poster, ‘Norman Wilkinson’, http://www.thevintageposter.com/4942.html, accessed September 22 2003

Related Links

• Norman Wilkinson, written and/or illustrated
• Ship camouflage invented by Norman Wilkinson

Information collated from: Shaw, C.K., ‘Works Relations’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 1,618, May 25 1944, p.259.

Publications: Aftermath: Cartoons by Vicky (1946); Unpublished Cartoons by Vicky (1947); New Statesman Profiles (1957); Vicky’s World (1959); Home and Abroad (1964)

Information collated from: National Portrait Gallery, ‘Victor Weisz (1913-1966),’Vicky’; cartoonist’, http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp05898&role=art, accessed March 24 2004; Spartacus Schoolnet, ‘Victor Weisz (Vicky)’, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jvicky.htm, last updated June 24 2002, accessed March 25 2004; Questionnaire submitted by Royall, K. to Embleton, E., Royall, K., ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of British Defence’, Unpublished M.A., University of Westminster, 1991, p.123; Anonymous, ‘Victor Weisz’, http://www.hungary.org.uk/English/diary/2002/weisz.htm, accessed March 25 2003

Information collated from: Anonymous, ‘Winning War Office Poster’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 127, No. 1,660, March 15 1945, p.362.