The Lost Watercolours of Edward Bawden

Celebrated as an illustrator and printmaker, Edward Bawden (1903–1989) was also, in the 1930s, a modern painter of real critical standing. This book assembles the largest group of his pre-war watercolours ever brought together, many first shown at his solo exhibitions at the Zwemmer Gallery in 1933 and the Leicester Galleries in 1938.

Tracing them took three years: some had disappeared into private hands, while others sat in public collections under new names, Bawden’s poetic original titles long since replaced. Publisher Tim Mainstone recounts the search, and James Russell, author of the Ravilious in Pictures series, opens with an essay on Bawden’s life and work through the decade. Many of the paintings were newly photographed for the book and are reproduced at generous scale.

Published by The Mainstone Press.

Named a 2016 Book of the Year by The Sunday Times and the New Statesman.

‘At least half the examples … have not been seen in public in living memory.’ – Alan Powers, Country Life

• 192 pages
• Page size 300 × 280 mm
• Full cloth binding with a decorative label and slipcase

Limited to 850 copies.