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We’re currently cataloguing original artworks made for Ladybird books, and at first we were confused about why this carriage had fallen over.
At first we thought they may be changing a wheel, but our wagon expert colleagues informed us this wasn’t the case. But when we pulled out the magnifying glass, we saw that one horse was still harnessed to the carriage and had fallen into the verge/ditch.
Poor horse.
The University of Reading holds the archive of original artwork for the much-loved Ladybird children’s book. This painting on board was used to illustrate Exploring Space, a Ladybird ‘Achievements’ Book first published in 1964. The artwork was created by Brian Knight.
If you look closely at the painting, you can see the faint trace of Knight’s initial design for the lunar landing module - just visible under the later amendment.
Published before the first Moon landing in 1969, the fantasy spacecraft was sleek and utopian. It typifies the extent to which The Space Race captured our mid-century imaginations and permeated visual culture. The later correction, based on the Eagle Lunar Module, was printed in subsequent revisions to the book. It was an acknowledgment of a successful mission and testament to Ladybird’s emphasis on accuracy for its young readers.
All artwork is © Ladybird Books Ltd. (and the Squint is © ™ ® @huntingtonlibrary)
You may not have known that the University of Reading has numerous art collections; we’d like to introduce you to them.
The diverse art collections include the University Art Collection of oil and acrylic paintings, works on paper and photographs. Over the course of its life, work was acquired for the University Art Collection for different reasons and was used in different ways. Artworks were used as teaching aids, acquired to illustrate the University’s institutional history, or commissioned to hang in University buildings. Artworks were acquired for their connections to local history, or were the result of generous and idiosyncratic benefaction, including acquiring the work of past students.
Lacking a single unifying theme, the University Art Collection is a collection that tells the story of its institution. It is a representation of the University’s teaching, the interests of its staff and students, its building’s aesthetic and its supporters, over the past 90 years.
Some of the most significant work in the University Art Collection includes Leon Kossoff’s (b. 1926) Willesden Junction, Early Morning, 1962.
UAC/10234 ‘Willesden Junction, Early Morning’ by Leon Kossoff, 1962.
Born in London, Kossoff used the city as a stimulus for his work, often painting autobiographical scenes from where he lived and worked. Although rooted in observation, the reality and impact of his work is achieved less from topographic realism, and more from his sensory reflections of place and handling of paint (Hallman, 2014).
The University Art Collection also holds a number of paintings by Max Weber (1881-1961).
UAC/10415 ‘Still life with bird’, by Max Weber, 1912.
Weber is acknowledged today as one of the most influential American artists among his generation of early moderns (North, 2014). Weber spent several years in Paris and Europe where he assimilated modernist ideas into his work. On his return to America in 1908, he is attributed with being the first artist to introduce the New York art scene to cubist-inspired work – through both his painting and those of his acquaintances, Picasso and Cezanne.
The University Art Collection holds a number of drawings and preliminary sketches by Walter Sickert. In the early years of the twentieth century, Sickert created an informal grouping of fellow artists; this assembly later evolved into the Camden Town Group.
Betts_017 ‘Marie seated on a bed’, by Walter Sickert, c.1911-12
Camden Town painting is recognised by several characteristics, the works tended to be small and were draughted with impartial accuracy. The Group’s favourite themes established an unmistakable and repeated vocabulary: nudes on a bed, at the toilet, or inhabiting bed-sits in Camden Town. Clothed figures appear in humble interiors, mantelpieces, still-lifes of cluttered bric-a-brac and landscape views of commonplace London streets and gardens (Baron, 1976). In this sketch ‘Hubby’, Sickert’s housekeeper, is in the background in front of a mirror, probably dressing. Marie is nude and seated in the foreground, facing the viewer. Sickert’s title to base reads ‘the discussion’. Through the addition of suggestive titles, often retrospectively, Sickert embellished his two-figure subjects with fabricated stories (Baron, 1976).
The Art Collections includes the painting collection of the Museum of English Rural Life; which forms part of MERL’s designated collection.
64/96 This is a print from a lithograph of a painting, entitled 'Portrait of T. W. Coke and North Devon Ox', by W. H. Davis, c.1837.
The painting collection relates to the era of farm livestock improvement in the nineteenth century. Affectionately referred to by curatorial staff as ‘fat cow’ paintings - owing to their extraordinary size and shape - these animal portraits were commissioned to portray prize-winning breeds in a time before photography.
As ever, the definition of what art is means artistic works are contained not just in the University Art Collection or the MERL painting collection. Artistic works appear throughout the University’s Special Collections.
MS 5336/375/1 © Ladybird Books Ltd 2015, Illustration from ‘Numbers’, first published 1959, Illustrator: G.Robinson
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy is the archive of original full-colour illustrations for Ladybird books. The Ladybird books; authoritative, nurturing and quintessentially British in their approach, offered a portrait of their time through specially commissioned artwork. The books aided and encouraged children to read, and to embrace knowledge independently.
The University has recently appointed an Art Collections Officer who will manage the Art Collections. With this new post, we hope to demonstrate the relevance of the Art Collections by cultivating them as a resource in teaching and learning. As part of this objective, you can follow our progress as we share news of our future projects on our blog and twitter.
Queries relating to the Art Collection can be directed to the Art Collections Officer, Jacqueline Winston-Silk [email protected]
We’re celebrating 100 years of Ladybird Books this year, and kicking off with a piece on BBC Breakfast and then in March fantastic lecture by Lawrence Zeegan. Link for details in profile! #rarebooks #ladybird #penguin http://ift.tt/14VMy6H
