Gwen Raverat, wood engraver

"From the late nineteenth century, wood engraving ceased to be a reproductive process and became a medium for creative expression. In this revival one of the most prolific and significant engravers was Gwen Raverat (1885-1957), the only women to become a founder-member of the Society of Wood Engravers. Gwen was the granddaughter of Charles Darwin and is still today widely admired for her delightful autobiography Period Piece with its amusing drawings. She grew up in Cambridge, whose river, fens, and trees were the source of her enduring love for landscape and provided themes of universal and lasting appeal. Gwen had been trained as a painter, and therefore visualised subjects in tone rather than line. She had an impressionistic approach to form, expressing it in terms of light - her skill at conveying atmosphere and different qualities of light was unrivalled. Gwen also had a strong sense of character as is shown by her numerous illustrations to children's books." "This book was first published in a limited edition of 300 copies, handprinted by Simon Lawrence at his Fleece Press. It contains the first in-depth assessment of Gwen Raverat as a wood engraver, exploring her technique and her experiments with colour prints. In addition it contains the first catalogue of all her engravings, whether on hard- or soft-wood or lino, and the first descriptive bibliography of the books and ephemera which she illustrated. It is illustrated throughout with examples of her work."--Jacket.