James Bostock (painter)

James Bostock
Born	(1917-06-11)11 June 1917 Hanley, England
Died	26 May 2006(2006-05-26) (aged 88) Margate, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Painter

James Bostock (Hanley, Staffs 11June 1917 - Margate, Kent 26th May 2006) was a British wood-engraver and artist. He was born in Hanley, Staffs, the son of William George Bostock (d.1948) pottery and glass-worker, and Amy (née Titley, d.1976). He was brought up in Kent and attended Borden Grammar School, Sittingbourne, and later, Medway School of Art in Rochester.

From 1936 to 1939 he undertook post-graduate study at the Royal College of Art where his tutors included Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious and Paul and John Nash. It was there that he first became attracted to printmaking, and especially wood engraving.  He was awarded RCA certificates in etching, wood engraving and lithography, and the ARCA diploma.

After distinguished war service he began to produce wood engravings which were soon recognised for their fine craftsmanship and artistic individuality. By 1950 he had been elected a member of both the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers (later the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers) and the Society of Wood Engravers. He exhibited regularly at the annual exhibitions of these societies and his work was often included in the Royal Academy summer shows. Museums and international institutions acquired his wood engravings and Bostock quietly secured his position within the print world.

For over thirty years James Bostock combined an artistic career with that of a full-time teacher and administrator. Notwithstanding his academic commitments, as well as the inevitable demands of bringing up a family of three boys, Bostock produced a remarkable oeuvre of paintings and prints. However, it was not until retirement in 1978, and a resultant flurry of artistic activity, that James Bostock's work came before a wider audience. His work is to be found in the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Council collection, the Hunt Botanical Library, Pittsburgh and many private collections.

Exhibitions of his paintings and prints occurred regularly and the wood engravings were shown at the exhibitions of the Society of Wood Engravers. Sadly, by 1988, deteriorating eyesight and the onset of arthritis caused him to cease wood engraving - although, even then, he still painted and drew with vigour.

The wood engravings continued to be shown at exhibitions and, in 1996, Bostock was one of nineteen major artists to be included in an exhibition arranged by Hilary Paynter (Chairman of the Society of Wood Engravers) at the Bankside Gallery, London. This exhibition featured artists who were members of both The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers and the Society of Wood Engravers. In 1997, Bostock's work was included in Hal Bishop's landmark exhibition at Exeter Museum, Twentieth-Century British Wood Engraving: A Celebration... and a Dissenting Voice. This exhibition received an Arts Council award and is possibly the most important display of British wood engraving to occur during this period.

Examples of Bostock’s wood engravings have been reproduced in many notable publications, including ‘An Engraver’s Globe by Simon Brett’, ‘British Wood Engraving of the 20th Century’ by Albert Garrett, and ‘Boxwood Blockmaker’ by S.T.E. Lawrence.

In 1988 Bostock provided twelve small wood engraved prints to illustrate a reprint of poems by the poet, Edward Thomas.

A substantial and distinguished group of collectors has now been established to James Bostock's wood engravings who admire not only the technical skill of his prints but their humour, observation and stylistic variety.

Bibliography

Hal Bishop, Twentieth-Century British Wood Engraving: A Celebration and a Dissenting Voice (1997. The Whittington Press)

Albert Garrett, British Wood Engraving of the 20th Century (1980. Scolar Press)

Simon Brett, An Engraver’s Globe (2002. Primrose Hill Press)

S.T.E. Lawrence, Boxwood Blockmaker (1980 The Whittington Press)

These Things Also are Springs; Poems by Edward Thomas (1988 (The Folio Press)