Archive launch lends Raverat new lease of life

Feb. 23, 2013 - PRLog -- Gwen Raverat is probably best remembered for her memoir, Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood. But she was also one of Britain's most celebrated and accomplished wood engravers, with an international reputation. An extensive archive of her prints is to launch in March; giving unfettered access to her artworks for the first time.  

Raverat, granddaughter of Charles Darwin, was a ground-breaking artist who moved in some extraordinary circles. She counted both Rupert Brooke and Virginia Woolf amongst her close friends. And was one of the very first women to attend art college in England. She went to the Slade in 1908, against the backdrop of the suffragette movement. She then helped pioneer the modern wood engraving revival, becoming one of the foremost miniaturists of her generation.

Her grandson, William Pryor, who has painstakingly compiled the archive says:
“I am blessed that Gwen Raverat was my grandmother. Acknowledged as one of the great woman artists of the first half of the last century, her wood-engravings charm us with their accessible beauty and detail. They have a depth of seeing that is at once lyrical, melancholic and nostalgic, yet timeless and never clichéd. These prints have something to say and I am delighted to be opening up her work to new audiences.”

Raverat was a Cambridge native who, despite a long association with France, created landscapes  that have been described as “quintessentially English.” Parallels have been drawn with Blake and Samuel Palmer. The works of this great artist will be available from 4th March 2013. Visit www.raverat.com to view the online gallery.