The Englishness of Edward Bawden: Linocuts and Watercolours at Dulwich

It's bright, it's bold and it's big; everyday items in garish colours and impossible proportions. It's unmistakably a Michael Craig-Martin. There's plenty of this in Michael Craig-Martin at the Royal Academy in London, the images you're possibly accustomed to. But there's more as well, some of it very intriguing, some of it a bit over the top. And if you don't know much about the history of this Irish-born artist, it's the very first room that you'll find most surprising. We did. Because before Craig-Martin started on all this, he was a conceptual artist. Or should that be a Conceptual Artist? Either way, no need to shudder in horror. This early work is thought-provoking. And quite humorous. The first exhibit is Craig-Martin's most famous from his conceptual period. Or perhaps most notorious. An Oak Tree from 1973 is a glass of water on a shelf, accompanied by a Q&A. Craig-Martin tells his questioner that "I've changed

The Englishness of Edward Bawden: Linocuts and Watercolours at Dulwich

There's an distinctive Englishness about Edward Bawden's art. Quirky, humorous and rather understated.

So there's quite a lot to like in the Edward Bawden exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery, the biggest such retrospective since he died in 1989. Some of his linocuts and illustrations are masterful, but his watercolours, while nice, are a wee bit underwhelming. Dulwich's attempt to persuade you of the breadth and depth of his artistic achievement, in a show that brings together more than 150 works, doesn't totally succeed.

At his best, Bawden could produce the sort of bold graphics that are instantly recognisable, and one of the six rooms in this show brings together a selection. It's Victoriana seen from the 1950s and 1960s, when, if not quite yet coming back into fashion, it was on the cusp of doing so -- unless it had already been lost to bombing or redevelopment. We get to enjoy Liverpool Street Station, London Markets, and, in this example, Brighton Pier.

Strong lines simplify a complex design, but there's lots of detail, too, emphasising the twiddly bits of 19th-century architecture as well as including the exotic delights of the Prince Regent's Brighton Pavilion on the left.

The show starts off idiosyncratically opposite the ticket desk at the entrance to the gallery, with a seaside peepshow commissioned from Bawden by Scarborough hotelier Tom Laughton, brother of actor Charles Laughton. Press the button and a view down the beach and the prom lights up before your very eyes. The first room of the show itself continues the seaside-holiday theme, with an illustrated Map of Scarborough made by Bawden for the hotel, showing Laughton as a grizzled old salt.

Here too are film posters designed by Bawden for classic Ealing Studios comedies, such as Hue & Cry with Alastair Sim and The Titfield Thunderbolt with Stanley Holloway.

And then, most weirdly and wonderfully of all, from Bawden's time as a war artist, there's The Showboat at Baghdad, a paddle-steamer that plied the River Tigris as part of a British government exercise to win over Iraqi hearts and minds in World War II. The Mississippi meets the Middle East.

After such a fun start, the next couple of rooms of paintings seem a little flat. Gardening is the loose theme of one, and there are some nicely observed works, including February 2pm from 1936, with a view out on to a garden through a blizzard. From much later in Bawden's career, in the 1970s, comes Agave, with the plant's hard-edged and twisting leaves standing out against the squares, triangles and circles in the room behind.

Bawden, who was originally from Essex, tended to do most of his painting within range of his home in Great Bardfield, near Braintree. The views are often very low-key, as in this one from 1936, March: Noon.

Bawden wasn't really a portrait painter, but in his capacity as a war artist he did produce some striking faces: Sister Newby from the Territorial Association Nursing Service cuts a weary figure, while there's great dignity about Scium Basci, A Sergeant in the Police Force formed by the Italians in Eritrea:

The final room returns to the light, amusing charm of the start of the show, with illustrations for cookbooks and works for children, including home-made writing for his own youngsters. His linocuts for Aesop's Fables are memorable. Then there are also wallpaper designs, such as this witty Sahara.

This is a small sample that has to be seen close up, but the curator has cleverly had a couple of other such designs reproduced on whole walls for us to really get a sense of how skilled Bawden was at this decorative art that blends into the background and becomes part of our everyday.

Dulwich has had some really fine exhibitions recently. This one, while still agreeable, is probably not a must-see.

Practicalities

Edward Bawden runs at Dulwich Picture Gallery in south-east London until September 9. It's open from 1000 to 1700 from Tuesdays to Sundays and tickets cost £16.50, which also covers entry to the permanent collection. They can be bought online here. The gallery is about 10 minutes' walk from both West Dulwich station, for trains from Victoria, and North Dulwich station, for trains from London Bridge.

Images

Edward Bawden, Brighton Pier, 1958, Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery (The Higgins Bedford). © Estate of Edward Bawden
Edward Bawden, Agave, 1970s, Private Collection. Photo: Brian Dicks, © Estate of Edward Bawden
Edward Bawden, March: Noon, 1936, The University of Manchester, The Whitworth. Photo: Image courtesy of the Whitworth, © The University of Manchester, ©Estate of Edward Bawden
Edward Bawden, A Sergeant in the Police Force formed by the Italians. © IWM (Art. IWM ART LD 1791), © Estate of Edward Bawden
Edward Bawden, Sahara, 1928, Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery (The Higgins Bedford). © Estate of Edward Bawden

Opening and Closing in October

There's been a spate of exhibitions over the past few years aimed at redressing centuries of neglect of the work of women artists, and the Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi is the latest to come into focus, at the National Gallery in London, starting on October 3. Most of the works have never been seen in Britain before, and they cover a lengthy career that features strong female figures in Biblical and classical scenes, as well as self-portraits. Until January 24. Also starting at the National on October 7 is a free exhibition that looks at Sin , as depicted by artists from Diego Velázquez and William Hogarth through to Tracey Emin, blurring the boundaries between the religious and the secular. This one runs until January 3. Tate Britain shows this winter how JMW Turner embraced the rapid industrial and technological advances at the start of the 19th century and recorded them in his work. Turner's Modern World , starting on October 28, will include painting

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Angelica Kauffman: Breaking Through the 18th-Century Glass Ceiling

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