John Buckland Wright (1897–1954) was a British printmaker, painter and draughtsman. He worked principally as an etcher and engraver, and was self-taught.

Biography

Buckland Wright was born on 3 December 1897 in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand. He moved to England in 1908. Buckland Wright studied history at Oxford and then architecture in London. He soon realised that he wanted to be an artist more than an architect and by 1921 he was living in Belgium and was elected a member of the Gravure Originale Belge in 1925. He was also a member of Xylographes Belges, SWE and LG. During the 1930s, Buckland Wright lived and worked in Paris and frequently visited S W Hayter's

Atelier 17 Atelier 17 was an art school and studio that was influential in the teaching and promotion of printmaking in the 20th century. Originally located in Paris, the studio relocated to New York during the years surrounding World War II. It moved back ...

. He had one-man shows in London and throughout the continent, sometimes signing his work J B W. His work is held by the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, and many galleries and museums in Europe and America. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. He mentored Turkish artist and engraver

Aliye Berger Aliye Berger (24 December 1903 – 9 August 1974) was a Turkish artist, engraver, and painter. Berger is one of the first engravers of Turkish Republic. She is known for her expressionist engravings and winning the painting competition of Yapı ...

in the late 1940s when she moved to London and began to study engraving. A master printmaker with an assured, swirling line, Buckland Wright passed on his skills after World War II when he taught at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, from 1948, and the Slade School of Fine Art, from 1953, the year that his book ''Etching and Engraving: Techniques and the Modern Trend'' was published. He illustrated over 50 books. Buckland Wright died on 27 September 1954. There was a retrospective of his work at Blond Fine Art, in 1981.

References

External links

Short bioMaster of the Burin: The Book Illustrations of John Buckland Wright
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University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckland Wright, John British illustrators British wood engravers 1897 births 1954 deaths 20th-century engravers New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century British printmakers Atelier 17 alumni Olympic competitors in art competitions

Biography

References

Further reading

External links