Publications
Ravilious at War: The Complete Works of Eric Ravilious, September 1939-September 1942, edited by Anne Ullman, published 2002 (286 pp., Upper Denby: The Fleece Press, ISBN-10: 0948375701 & ISBN-13: 9780948375705) accessible at: The Keep [RAV/9/3/1]
Eric Ravilious: Landscape, Letters and Design , edited by Anne Ullman, Christopher Whittick and Simon Lawrence, published 1 September 2008 (548 pp., Upper Denby: The Fleece Press, ISBN-10: 0948375876 & ISBN-13: 9780948375873) accessible at: British Library
Abstract:The acclaim which met Ravilious at War has spurred the preparation of a companion volume showing all Ravilious' murals and painted work which he produced upto the outbreak of war in 1939. Ravilious at War began with the group of six paintings of chalk figures in landscape settings, and it is appropriate that the new book ends with this group, a high-point and at the same time, turning-point in Ravilious' career. The text is comprised of selected correspondence: from Ravilious' early art school days (when his irrepressibly humorous friend Douglas Percy Bliss wrote to fill him in with news of college life), through friendships with Cecilia Dunbar Kilburn, Helen Binyon, Edward Bawden, Percy Horton, John and Christine Nash, and many more (some more intimate than others). The letters relate a little less directly to the paintings than in Ravilious at War, but give us a very good view of the artist's life in all its aspects. A separate prospectus is available while supplies last.
The book is a phenomenal 528 pages in two volumes, and contains about 300 images with 180,000 words. The collected letters give a deep and honest insight into Ravilious' personality and his perception of his world, and also give us a broader understanding of the 1930s, with the inexorable progress to European war. Of course for many people, the illustration of every known painting by this unique artist with a great many associated images, is what they will initially buy the book for, and this aspect alone makes the book so important. It has been a profound pleasure to publish this collection of words and images. Reviewing the book in the Times Literary Supplement, January 30th 2009, Miles Symner wrote: 'the care that has been devoted to designing and producing these two revelatory volumes matches that evident throughout Eric Ravilious's work. The result is enchantment.' Paul Johnson's assessment in The Spectator (March 21st 2009) was that 'It is one of the most remarkable books ever produced on an English artist.'
The book is a phenomenal 528 pages in two volumes, and contains about 300 images with 180,000 words. The collected letters give a deep and honest insight into Ravilious' personality and his perception of his world, and also give us a broader understanding of the 1930s, with the inexorable progress to European war. Of course for many people, the illustration of every known painting by this unique artist with a great many associated images, is what they will initially buy the book for, and this aspect alone makes the book so important. It has been a profound pleasure to publish this collection of words and images. Reviewing the book in the Times Literary Supplement, January 30th 2009, Miles Symner wrote: 'the care that has been devoted to designing and producing these two revelatory volumes matches that evident throughout Eric Ravilious's work. The result is enchantment.' Paul Johnson's assessment in The Spectator (March 21st 2009) was that 'It is one of the most remarkable books ever produced on an English artist.'