Bibliography - Ravilious, Eric
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Notes on the Wood-Engravings of Eric Ravilious , by Robert Harling, published 1946 (72 pp., London: The Shenval Press by Faber & Faber) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

England of Eric Ravilious, by Freda Constable, published 1982 (38 pp. + 64 plates, London: Scolar, ISBN-10: 0859675807 & ISBN-13: 9780859675802) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Eric Ravilious: Memoir of an Artist, by Helen Binyon, published 1983 (Guildford: Lutterworth Press, ISBN-10: 0718825918 & ISBN-13: 9780718825911) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

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]

England of Eric Ravilious, by Freda Constable, published 28 October 2006 (3rd revised edition, 104 pp., LundHumphries Publishers Ltd., ISBN-10: 0853318808 & ISBN-13: 9780853318804) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) died at the age of thirty-nine when the Air Sea Rescue mission, which he was accompanying in his capacity as Official War Artist, failed to return to its base in Iceland. In his short working life he figured in a group of exceptionally gifted artists, including Edward Bawden and John Nash, who came into prominence just before the Second World War. He achieved considerable success with his design work in a variety of fields, and is acknowledged to be one of the greatest English wood-engravers. Ravilious, however, felt that his most serious work was landscape painting in watercolour. Surprisingly, this material was generally neglected until the publication of The England of Eric Ravilious, a study hailed on publication as 'an irresistible book about a still underrated artist'. This re-issue marked the centenary of the artist's birth. In his powerful yet exquisite watercolours, Ravilious's England reveals itself as a country of rolling downland, quiet countryside, tranquil gardens, greenhouses and farmhouse interiors, the calm and beauty of which are threatened by the gathering storm of an imminent war.

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

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.'

Ravilious in Pictures, 1: Sussex and the Downs, by James Russell, published 1 December 2009 (48 pp., The Mainstone Press, ISBN-10: 0955277736 & ISBN-13: 9780955277733) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

First in a series of books celebrating the watercolours and landscapes of Eric Ravilious. Each painting is accompanied by an essay in which author James Russell explores the intriguing stories hidden behind the scenes, painting a captivating picture of this popular British artist.

Ravilious in Pictures, 2: The War Paintings, by James Russell and edited by Tim Mainstone, published 11 November 2010 (48 pp., The Mainstone Press, ISBN-10: 0955277744 & ISBN-13: 9780955277740) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings' celebrates and commemorates the wartime career of Eric Ravilious (1939-42), who died on active service in Iceland at the age of thirty-nine.
As an Official War Artist, Ravilious visited ports, naval bases and airfields around Britain, witnessed the Allied invasion and retreat from Norway and produced watercolours and lithographs of subjects ranging from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal in action to the interior of a mobile pigeon loft. This remarkable body of work blends defiance with exhilaration and insists that there is a place for beauty in the darkest times.
Ravilious in Pictures: The War Paintings, features twenty-two of these fascinating images, each accompanied by a short essay in which author James Russell explores the historical context of the work. Drawing on the artist's correspondence and other contemporary sources, these essays offer an unusual, intriguing vision of life during the early years of the war.

Ravilious in Pictures, 3: Country Life, by James Russell and edited by Tim Mainstone, published 1 April 2011 (48 pp., The Mainstone Press, ISBN-10: 0955277760 & ISBN-13: 9780955277764) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Ravilious in Pictures, 4: A Travelling Artist, by James Russell and edited by Tim Mainstone, published 27 February 2012 (48 pp., The Mainstone Press, ISBN-10: 0955277787 & ISBN-13: 9780955277788) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Ravilious in Pictures: A Travelling Artist is the fourth in a series of books celebrating the life and work of Eric Ravilious (1903-42). This volume features twenty-two pictures, each of which is both an exquisite painting in its own right and part of something bigger: the artist's idiosyncratic study of Britain in the 1930s.
Although Ravilious often completed paintings in his studio, with the help of pencilled notes, his pictures invariably began as a sketch of a real place, at a particular time of day - often dawn, or soon after - and in whatever weather conditions the moment offered. The quest for new subjects took Ravilious around Britain and beyond, on a decade-long journey of discovery that was interrupted only by his death on active service as a war artist. Inspired by places as diverse as Dungeness in Kent and the Welsh valley of Capel-y-ffin, Ravilious also sought out unusual subjects, like the Greenwich Observatory, and strange perspectives, such as the view from inside the Belle Tout lighthouse.
Following his habit of painting in series he drew the ports of Bristol and Rye, Newhaven and Le Havre; he painted lifeboats and pilot boats and the picturesque interiors of dockside inns. Each painting depicts a particular aspect of a fascinating place and each is accompanied by a concise essay which explores the location further, introducing characters and stories hidden behind the scenes. Taken as a whole, the twenty-two watercolours in this volume provide a uniquely compelling portrait of Britain in the years before World War II.
Ravilious in Pictures: A Travelling Artist is a companion to Sussex and the Downs (2009), The War Paintings (2010) and A Country Life (2011). Together, the books form an intimate portrait of the artist and his world - a life in pictures.

Eric Ravilious: Imagined Realities, by Alan Powers, published 30 May 2012 (reprint, 144 pp., Philip Wilson, ISBN-10: 1781300011 & ISBN-13: 9781781300015) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) is now firmly one of the most popular artists of his period. Eric Ravilious: Imagined Realities includes illustrations of many previously unpublished paintings, including a number from private collections, as well as surveying his other artistic activities. The text draws on many letters and other documents, again previously unpublished, and is the most comprehensive account of Revilious' career ever published. It also attempts to position Ravilious in relation to English art of his time, and more recent critical and cultural issues.

Eric Ravilious: Artist & Designer, by Alan Powers, published 16 October 2013 (216 pp., Farnham, Surrey: Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd., ISBN-10: 1848221118 & ISBN-13: 9781848221116) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

More popular than ever, the work of Eric Ravilious (1903-42) is rooted in the landscape of pre-war and early wartime England. This new book by Alan Powers, the established authority on Ravilious, provides the most comprehensive overview to date of the artist's work in all media - watercolour, illustration, printmaking, graphic design, textiles and ceramics - and firmly positions Ravilious as a major figure in the history of early 20th-century British art.In an accessible and engaging text, copiously illustrated with reproductions of work drawn from a range of sources, Alan Powers discusses the part Ravilious' work played in creating an English style, positioned between tradition and modernism, and borrowing from naive and popular art of the past. The book analyses Ravilious' different spheres of activity in turn, covering his education and formative influences, his mural painting, his printmaking and illustration, his work as leader in forming a new style of watercolour painting between the wars and his final period as an official War Artist. In a career curtailed by an early death, Ravilious also played a significant role as a designer; Powers argues that Ravilious showed how decoration and historical reference could find a place in the reform of the applied arts whilst simultaneously renewing a sense of national identity.Eric Ravilious will be welcomed by all those with an interest in an artist whose imagination was backed by great skill and a sharp eye for the unusual.

Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious: Design, by Brian Webb and Peyton Skipwith, published 28 May 2014 (2nd revised edition, 64 pp., Antique Collectors' Club, ISBN-10: 1851495002 & ISBN-13: 9781851495009) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

An excellent introduction to the work of two British designers Edward Bawden (1903-1989) and Eric Ravilious (1903-1942). This fascinating book illustrates every aspect of their creativity, featuring designs for wallpaper, posters, book jackets, trade cards and Wedgwood ceramics, to name but a few. "Design" opens with an informed and engaging essay by Peyton Skipwith, who, from the late 1960s, acted as Edward Bawden's principal dealer. Bawden and Ravilious both attended the Design School of the Royal College of Art. It was here that they met and started to experiment with print-making - marking the beginning of an extremely creative but tragically short-lived friendship. Ravilious was killed at the age of thirty-nine in an air-sea rescue mission during the Second World War; and Edward Bawden survived him by forty-six years. "Design" contains over 150 illustrations, many from original artworks, and work not before reproduced.

Ravilious, by James Russell, published 28 April 2015 (192 pp., Philip Wilson Publishers, ISBN-10: 1781300321 & ISBN-13: 9781781300329) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

This beautifully illustrated book is the first full-length critical study to focus on the watercolours of multitalented British artist and designer Eric Ravilious (1903-1942). An introductory section offers an intimate portrait of Ravilious, an artist for whom personal relationships, particularly with women, were paramount. It goes on to describe the extraordinary achievements of an all-too-brief career, drawing on new research to seek out artistic influences and examine Ravilious's relationships with fellow-artists, as well as the development of his mark making.There follows the most comprehensive display of Ravilious watercolours yet assembled. Some have never been published, while others are familiar and well loved. Many are explored in short accompanying essays, some with full-bleed images that show details of paintings at full size. This is the definitive guide to the luminous, evocative and timeless watercolours of Eric Ravilious, an artist now regarded as one of the finest of the twentieth century.

Eric Ravilious: Design, by Brian Webb and Peyton Skipwith, published 30 June 2015 (96 pp., Antique Collectors' Club, ISBN-10: 1851498028 & ISBN-13: 9781851498024) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Eric Ravilious: Design is the latest title in the acclaimed and award winning Design Series. This new title, with text by Peyton Skipwith and Brian Webb, contains more than 170 images, several not illustrated before. The book focuses on Ravilious as a designer, in particular his work as an illustrator and wood engraver, and his work in ceramics and textiles. The book builds on the success of the first and bestselling book in this series which featured the work of Ravilious and his friend Edward Bawden - Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious: Design. This book will form an excellent and affordable introduction to the work of this brilliant and popular artist.

Eric Ravilious: Masterpieces of Art, by Susie Hodge, published 1 September 2015 (128 pp., Flame Tree Publishing, ISBN-10: 1783616040 & ISBN-13: 9781783616046) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Art of Fine Gifts: Twentieth-century painter, designer and wood engraver Eric Ravilious was responsible for a fascinating range of different works, from illustrations for books to designs for ceramics for the established Wedgwood pottery firm. This gorgeous new book features beautiful woodcut images of countryside life, watercolours of rolling landscapes and many of Ravilious' acute and profound war paintings.

Eric Ravilious: Memoir of an Artist, by Helen Binyon, published 29 September 2016 (new edition, 144 pp., Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, ISBN-10: 0718829204 & ISBN-13: 9780718829209) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Eric Ravilious was among the foremost of English artists to emerge between the wars and one of the great original wood engravers. His body of work was wide-ranging and multi-faceted; in his relatively short career after he left the Royal College of Art he produced an extraordinary amount of work murals, watercolours, wood engravings, lithographs, pottery designs for Wedgwood. Successful and enterprising as he was in these diverse fields, it was in the field of landscape painting in watercolour that Ravilious excelled. His tragic and untimely death in 1942, while on service as an Official War Artist, meant that his great promise was never fulfilled and it has been left to Helen Binyon to present this fascinating study of the artist to a world largely unaware of his presence. The author knew Ravilious well from their student days and has been able to draw upon her intimate knowledge of this vivid and exciting artist to make this a compelling account of a genius. Eric Ravilious is introduced by Richard Morphet, former Keeper of Modern Art at the Tate Gallery, who places Ravilious in the context of modern-day appreciation of his work and describes the close relationship between Eric Ravilious and Helen Binyon, which led her to write this illuminating book. The book is lavishly illustrated with examples of Raviliouss work from his student days to his powerfully realised drawings and paintings as an Official War Artist.

Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship , by Andy Friend with an introduction by Alan Powers, published 20 April 2017 (336 pp., Thames and Hudson ltd., ISBN-10: 050023955X & ISBN-13: 9780500239551) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

In recent years Eric Ravilious has become recognized as one of the most important British artists of the 20th century, whose watercolours and wood engravings capture an essential sense of place and the spirit of mid-century England. What is less appreciated is that he did not work in isolation, but within a much wider network of artists, friends and lovers influenced by Paul Nash's teaching at the Royal College of Art - Edward Bawden, Barnett Freedman, Enid Marx, Tirzah Garwood, Percy Horton, Peggy Angus and Helen Binyon among them. The Ravilious group bridged the gap between fine art and design, and the gentle, locally rooted but spritely character of their work came to be seen as the epitome of contemporary British values. Seventy-five years after Ravilious's untimely death, Andy Friend tells the story of this group of artists from their student days through to the Second World War. Ravilious & Co. explores how they influenced each other and how a shared experience animated their work, revealing the significance in this pattern of friendship of women artists, whose place within the history of British art has often been neglected. Generously illustrated and drawing on extensive research, and a wealth of newly discovered material, Ravilious & Co. is an enthralling narrative of creative achievement, joy and tragedy.

Earls Court and Eastbourne, by Andy Friend, published 20 April 2017 in Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship (Chapter 2, pp.55-87, Thames and Hudson ltd., ISBN-10: 050023955X & ISBN-13: 9780500239551) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Growing up in the 1920s

Newhaven, by Andy Friend, published 20 April 2017 in Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship (Chapter 6, pp.175-207, Thames and Hudson ltd., ISBN-10: 050023955X & ISBN-13: 9780500239551) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Artistic work by Ravilious in Newhaven in the 1930s

Bristol and Rye, by Andy Friend, published 20 April 2017 in Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship (Chapter 8, pp.235-263, Thames and Hudson ltd., ISBN-10: 050023955X & ISBN-13: 9780500239551) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Artistic work by Ravilious in Rye in the 1930s

Friendship by design, by Peyton Skipwith, published 26 July 2017 in Country life (211 (30), article, pp.90-91)