Tom Chadwick: Look not in my Eyes (wood engraving)

wood engraving 1930-1937, from "A Shropshire Lad"
a collection of poems by A.E.Housman, published in 1896
courtesy of Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa

Tom Chadwick (1912-1942) is a relatively unknown artist though his name carries a mystique based solely on his work, although there are less than thirty known engravings.   His paintings and wood engravings reflect his travels to exotic places during the 1930s before he joined the army in 1939. Chadwick had a phenomenal technical grasp of texture and pattern, and his finest work displays an unequalled intricacy of design.

Chadwick was trained by the Scottish artist Iain Macnab at the famous Grosvenor School of Modern Art which, during its brief existence (it closed in 1940), re-invigorated British print-making; it is associated particularly with the revival of the linocut. Fellow students held his work in awe, and Iain Macnab, who was the head of the School, said that Chadwick was his finest pupil, praising him as an outstanding artist-engraver and his most brilliant student. Tragically Chadwick’s career was cut short by the Second World War - he was killed when fighting for the 3rd Hussars at the battle of El Alamein in 1942 at the age of only 27.

the above text appears on the back of the card
HC-647: card size 6" x 6" (150mm x 150mm)