Lot 152: Michael Foreman (British, born 1938)

Terry Jones as Basilcat, signed, ink and watercolour, 9 x 11.5cm (3 9/16 x 4 1/2in).
together with Harold Jones (b. 1904) Ice, signed in pencil, lithograph, and Geoffrey Rhoades (1898-1980) Christmas card, wood engraving. (3)

Michael Foreman was born in Suffolk in 1938. He went to Lowestoft School of Art and later to the Royal College of Art, where he won a scholarship to the US. After graduating, he lectured at St Martin's School of Art and then went to Chicago where he worked as Art Director of Playboy. The following year he moved back to London and worked as Art Director on King. In 1967, he returned to lecturing and has since worked at the London School of Printing, the Royal College of Art and the Central School of Art in London. Michael has illustrated books by Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Roald Dahl and Rudyard Kipling. He has also designed Christmas stamps for the Post Office, and he regularly contributes illustrations to American and European magazines. Exhibitions of his work have been held in Europe, America and Japan. Michael Foreman is the award-winning illustrator of over 170 books, 20 of which he has written himself. He has twice won the Kate Greenaway Medal.

Harold Jones was born in Romford, Essex in 1904. He studied at the Royal College of Art. He illustrated “This Year, Next Year” by Walter de la Mare which was exhibited by the First Edition Club, 1937. He was author of “The Visit to the Farm” with illustrations by himself in 1941 and he also illustrated “The Enchanted Night” in 1947 as well as a number of children's books such as Lavender Blue. Bibliography: Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, London 1964.

Geoffrey Rhoades was born in London in 1898. He studied at Clapham Art School under L. C. Nightingale and at the Slade School under Henry Tonks between 1919 and 1924. He was awarded the Giles Bequest prize 1950 for his linocut ‘Anacreon's Tomb’. He taught art part-time at the Working Men's College, London, 1928–36 and at Bishop's Stortford College 1930–45; assistant at the Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford, since 1955. He had a one-man exhibition at Wye College, Ashford, Kent in 1956. He died in 1980.

Michael Foreman purchased from Chris Beetles Ltd., St. James's, London 1993.
Geoffrey Rhoades and Harold Jones purchased from Sally Hunter Fine Art, London 1987 and 1990.