Leonard Russell Squirrell (30 October 1893 – 10 July 1979) was an English artist. He produced watercolours and etchings, and his work included images for commercial companies.

Life

Squirrell was born in Ipswich, son of Frank Squirrell, a carpenter, and his wife Henrietta. In his youth he had a noted talent for drawing, and in 1908 he entered the

Ipswich School of Art Ipswich School of Art (ISA) was an art school in Ipswich, Suffolk. It was founded as the Ipswich School of Science and Art which opened on 10 January 1859. It continued to have an independent existence until 1997, when it was absorbed by the Uni ...

, studying under George Rushton. He remained there until 1916."Leonard Squirrell"
The Ipswich Society. Retrieved 24 February 2023."Squirrell, Leonard"
Suffolk Artists. Retrieved 24 February 2023. In 1920 Squirrell went to the Slade School of Fine Art, where he studied under

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...

and

Philip Wilson Steer Philip Wilson Steer (28 December 1860 – 18 March 1942) was a British painter of landscapes, seascapes plus portraits and figure studies. He was also an influential art teacher. His sea and landscape paintings made him a leading figure in ...

. Later he travelled to Italy and France, and produced etchings of landscapes; at the International Print Makers Exhibitions in Los Angeles he won a silver medal in 1923, and gold medals in 1925 and 1930. From 1929 he taught etching at the

, succeeding Charles Edward Baskett, and remained there until 1940. He lived in Ipswich for most of his life. He was a member of Ipswich Art Club from 1914 until his death, and a member and exhibitor at Norfolk & Norwich Art Circle in 1932. He was on the council of the

Royal Society of Painters in Water-Colours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...

and the

Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), known until 1991 as the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, is a leading art institution based in London, England. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as it was originally styled, was ...

. Squirrell made few oil paintings, preferring watercolour and

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

s, and he exhibited in many galleries. He produced aquatints, mezzotints and drypoints. He produced railway posters, and images for many commercial companies, such as Ransomes Sims and Jefferies and Fisons. ''Landscape Painting in Pastel'' was published in 1938, and ''Practice in Watercolour'' in 1950. He continued to paint into his last years.

Family

In 1923 he married Hilda Bird, and they had a daughter and a son. Their son Martin Squirrell (1926–1950) had three works exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1943, and became art editor of the ''East Anglian Magazine''."Squirrell, Martin"
Suffolk Artists. Retrieved 24 February 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Squirrell, Leonard 1893 births 1979 deaths 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art English graphic designers Artists from Ipswich English watercolourists British railway artists