The pre-war and early-war English landscape served as the inspiration for Eric Ravilious' (1903–42) work, which is now more well-known than ever. A major figure in the history of early 20th-century British art, Ravilious is firmly established in this new book by Alan Powers, the acknowledged authority on the artist. It offers the most thorough overview to date of the artist's work in all media, including watercolour, illustration, printmaking, graphic design, textiles, and ceramics. Alan Powers discusses the role Ravilious' work played in developing an English style that was situated between tradition and modernism and borrowed from naive and popular art of the past in an accessible and engrossing text that is profusely illustrated with reproductions of work from a variety of sources.
The book examines each of Ravilious' various areas of expertise, including his upbringing and formative influences, mural painting, printmaking, illustration, his role as a pioneer in developing a new school of watercolour painting in the interwar years, and his final years as an official War Artist. Powers contends that Ravilious demonstrated how ornamentation and historical allusion may find a place in the reform of the applied arts while at the same time reviving a feeling of national identity during a career that was cut short by an early death. All those interested in an artist whose imagination was supported by remarkable skill and a keen eye for the unexpected will warmly welcome Eric Ravilious.