Charles Tunnicliffe

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe (1901-1979) was an internationally renowned naturalistic painter of birds and wildlife who spent most of his working life on Anglesey.

A Snowy Owl, Anglesey, date unknown.

Life

Tunnicliffe was born in 1901 in Langley, Cheshire and he spent his early years living on a farm in the Macclesfield area. As a young man he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London.

In 1947 he moved from Manchester to a cottage called "Shorelands" on the estuary of the Afon Cefni on Anglesey, where he lived until his death in 1979.

Work

Much of Tunnicliffe's work depicted birds in their natural settings and other naturalistic scenes. He illustrated Henry Williamson's Tarka the Otter. His work was also used to illustrate Brooke Bond tea cards and as a result was seen by millions of young people in the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s. He also illustrated a number of books including the Ladybird Books. His work was characterised by its precision and accuracy, but also the way that he was able to portray birds as they were seen in nature rather than as stiff scientic studies.

At his death, much of his personal collection of work was bequeathed to Anglesey council on the condition that it was housed together and made available for public viewing. This body of work can now be seen at Oriel Ynys Môn (The Anglesey Gallery) near Llangefni.