Stanley Roy Badmin
Encyclopedia
Stanley Roy Badmin was an English
painter
and etcher particularly noted for his book illustrations and landscapes
.
in 1906, and went on to study at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal College of Art
, London
; he became one of the youngest ever associate members of the Royal Watercolour Society
at the age of only 26. He taught at a number of art schools in London, teaching at the Central School of Art in the 1950s.
During World War II
Badmin worked for the UK's Ministry of Information, before joining the RAF.
A major retrospective exhibition of his work was held in 1985 to coincide with the publication of his biography
.
Badmin died in Bignor
, West Sussex
, in 1989.
artists such as Graham Sutherland
, John Piper
and Eric Ravilious
. His greatest public recognition came through his book illustration and advertising work, which was also largely based on English landscape subjects.
During the 1930s, Badmin began to receive commissions for magazine illustration; he produced his first book illustrations in 1937 (Highways and Byways of Essex by Clifford Bax
, with further illustrations by F. L. Griggs
). He wrote and illustrated three books for Puffin
, the children's imprint of Penguin Books
, one of which (Trees in Britain, 1943) has been described as "one of the most beautiful illustrated books of [the 20th] century". The book was so successful it later became adopted as a set text by an agricultural college.
Some of Badmin's most well-known work was commissioned by Shell
; he worked on advertising art and book illustration for the popular Shell Guides
series during the 1950s. His style also became familiar to the British travelling public through his work for London Transport
and a series of posters for British Railways, among other clients.
Badmin usually signed his work "S. R. Badmin", and is most widely known as such.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and etcher particularly noted for his book illustrations and landscapes
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
.
Biography
Badmin was born in SydenhamSydenham
Sydenham is an area and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham; although some streets towards Crystal Palace Park, Forest Hill and Penge are outside the ward and in the London Borough of Bromley, and some streets off Sydenham Hill are in the London Borough of Southwark. Sydenham was in...
in 1906, and went on to study at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; he became one of the youngest ever associate members of the Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
at the age of only 26. He taught at a number of art schools in London, teaching at the Central School of Art in the 1950s.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Badmin worked for the UK's Ministry of Information, before joining the RAF.
A major retrospective exhibition of his work was held in 1985 to coincide with the publication of his biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
.
Badmin died in Bignor
Bignor
Bignor is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of the English county of West Sussex, about six miles north of Arundel....
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, in 1989.
Work
Badmin worked primarily in watercolour. He was particularly inspired by the English rural landscape, and was especially noted for his detailed yet evocative paintings of trees. His work shows strong affinities with contemporary neo-romanticNeo-romanticism
The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in music, painting and architecture. It has been used with reference to very late 19th century and early 20th century composers such as Gustav Mahler particularly by Carl Dahlhaus who uses it as synonymous with late Romanticism...
artists such as Graham Sutherland
Graham Sutherland
Graham Vivien Sutherland OM was an English artist.-Early life:He was born in Streatham, attending Homefield Preparatory School, Sutton. He was then educated at Epsom College, Surrey before going up to Goldsmiths, University of London...
, John Piper
John Piper (artist)
John Egerton Christmas Piper, CH was a 20th-century English painter and printmaker. For much of his life he lived at Fawley Bottom in Buckinghamshire, near Henley-on-Thames.-Life:...
and Eric Ravilious
Eric Ravilious
Eric William Ravilious was an English painter, designer, book illustrator and wood engraver.-Career:Ravilious studied at Eastbourne School of Art, and at the Royal College of Art, where he studied under Paul Nash and became close friends with Edward Bawden.He began his working life as a muralist,...
. His greatest public recognition came through his book illustration and advertising work, which was also largely based on English landscape subjects.
During the 1930s, Badmin began to receive commissions for magazine illustration; he produced his first book illustrations in 1937 (Highways and Byways of Essex by Clifford Bax
Clifford Bax
Clifford Bax was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator, for example of Goldoni...
, with further illustrations by F. L. Griggs
F. L. Griggs
Frederick Landseer Maur Griggs, RA, RE was a distinguished English etcher, architectural draughtsman, illustrator, and early conservationist, associated with the late flowering of the Arts and Crafts movement in the Cotswolds...
). He wrote and illustrated three books for Puffin
Puffin Books
Puffin Books is the children's imprint of British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s it has been the largest publisher of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world.-Early history:...
, the children's imprint of Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, one of which (Trees in Britain, 1943) has been described as "one of the most beautiful illustrated books of [the 20th] century". The book was so successful it later became adopted as a set text by an agricultural college.
Some of Badmin's most well-known work was commissioned by Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
; he worked on advertising art and book illustration for the popular Shell Guides
Shell Guides
The Shell Guides were originally a 20th century series of guidebooks on the counties of Britain. They were aimed at a new breed of car-driving metropolitan tourist, and for those who sought guides that were neither too serious nor too shallow and who took pleasure in the ordinary and peculiar...
series during the 1950s. His style also became familiar to the British travelling public through his work for London Transport
London Transport Executive
The London Transport Executive was the organisation responsible for public transport in the Greater London area, UK, between 1948-1962. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.-Creation:On 1...
and a series of posters for British Railways, among other clients.
Badmin usually signed his work "S. R. Badmin", and is most widely known as such.
Sources
- Beetles, C. S. R. Badmin and the English Landscape, Collins, 1985, ISBN 978-0004120201