Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

Location

Country: Brunei
City: Bandar Seri Begawan
Place: British High Commission

This print by Edwin La Dell is part of the Oxford and Cambridge Series commissioned by St George's Gallery, London in the late 1950s. It features the distinctive circular building of the Radcliffe Camera, in Oxford. Funded from the estate of Dr John Radcliffe, the 18th century physician and philosopher whose generous bequest to the University funded the construction of notable buildings including the Radcliffe Observatory, Infirmary and Camera. 

The illustrative nature of this print echoes the style of La Dell’s former decorative prints that he was commissioned to make by Lyons for their tea shops nationwide, and for the Guinness print series he produced to enhance canteens, bars and pubs.

Edwin La Dell, painter and lithographer, was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire. From 1930–38 he studied at Sheffield College of Art and at the Royal College of Art.  An Official War Artist during the Second World War, he worked on civil and military camouflage, and from 1946–49 he produced war paintings, lithographs and murals for the Central Office of Information. After the War he continued making art and teaching at the Royal College of Art where he became Head of Printmaking. His post-war prints were enormously influential and his works are held in the Tate Collection and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Born in Rotherham, Edwin La Dell won scholarships to Sheffield School of Art and the Royal College of Art (RCA), where he studied under John Nash and Percy Horton. Often using flat colour overlays, his work conveyed a strong sense of design as well as an interest in atmospheric effects. During the Second World War, he joined the Civil Defence Camouflage Establishment in Leamington Spa, working as a camouflage designer. He became involved with the Artists International Association and also submitted work to the War Artists Advisory Committee. In 1943, he was sent on active service, first in Belgium and then on the German Front. From 1946 to 1949, he produced paintings, lithographs and murals for the Central Office of Information. After the War, he continued making art and was employed as a teacher, initially working as a tutor at the RCA in 1948 before becoming Head of the Printmaking. In this role, his impact on post-war printmaking and future generations of printmakers was enormously influential. His works are represented in several public collections including Tate and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Places

England, Oxfordshire

Subjects

bicycle, topography, townscape/cityscape, man, road, university, library

Materials & Techniques

lithograph

Artist

Edwin La Dell (1914 - 1970)

Title

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

Portfolio Title

The Oxford and Cambridge Eight

Edition

33/50

Date

1959

Medium

Lithograph

Dimensions

height: 42.50 cm, width: 55.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from St.George's Gallery, May 1960

Inscription

below image: 33/50 / Radcliffe Camera / Edwin La Dell

GAC number

5126