Edward Ardizzone’s Illustrations

An exhibition of the illustrations of Edward Ardizzone, including many never exhibited before.

Edward Ardizzone RA (1900-79) was one of relatively few British artists who defined the field of illustration for their generation. Although his work as an artist and illustrator was wide-ranging, it is for his children’s books that he is best known. This exhibition will seek to restore the balance by giving equal weight to Ardizzone’s illustrations for adults, including many of his greatest works.

Illustrations for adults will include 25 for Trollope’s first two Barchester novels, never exhibited before. There will also be illustrations for Dickens and Hardy. Children’s illustrations include paste-ups for Tim in Danger and the title-page design for Stig of the Dump, as well as The Suburban Child, The Little Train and Robert Graves’s Ann at Highwood Hall.

‘Edward Ardizzone’s Illustrations’ is curated by the Museum’s Collection and Exhibitions Manager, Geoffrey Beare. The Expert Talk on 20th April will be given by Alan Powers, author of the recently-published book ‘Edward Ardizzone Artist and Illustrator’.

Here’s a short film by Beverly Peter of Geoffrey Beare, the exhibition’s curator, speaking about Ardizzone and his relevance to the Museum:

All images © The estate of Edward Ardizzone