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Douglas Percy Bliss (1900-1984)

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Douglas Percy Bliss (1900-1984)
Morayshire Crofler
Signed Douglas Percy Bliss, in pencil (bottom right) with title Morayshire Crofler, in pencil (bottom left)
Woodcut printed in black ink on oriental paper (mid-late 20s)
Mounted (not framed)

Douglas Percy Bliss's family was originally from Northamptonshire but his grandfather moved to Morayshire in Scotland, where he raised a family of sixteen children. The future artist was born in Karachi, India (now Pakistan). Douglas always regarded himself as Scottish, as he was raised in Edinburgh and was educated at George Watson's College 1906-17. On leaving school, he joined the Highland Light Infantry until the end of the Great War in 1918. He went on to gain an M.A. honours degree in English Lit. at Edinburgh University 1922. The study of Art History in his first year encouraged his lifelong interest in art and architecture.

After obtaining his degree, D.P. Bliss studied painting at the Royal College of Art in London. He became student editor of the R.C.A. magazine. Impressed by the imaginative quality of his third magazine, in which he introduced the innovation of hand- colouring by stencil, the British Museum bought several copies and which sent one to the Louvre Print Room in Paris.

He discovered an ideal medium for his artistic and design talents when he studied wood engraving in his post-graduate year. The high quality of Bliss's engravings was quickly admired beyond the walls of the R.C.A. In 1925, the august and supremely conservative Oxford University Press published a book of engravings by the young art student illustrating 'Border Ballads'. Commissions quickly followed on the success of 'Border Ballads', including illustrations for 'The History of Rasselas' by Dr. Johnson, published by J.M. Dent in 1926. The same publishers paid a great compliment to Bliss when they commissioned him to write 'A History Of Wood Engraving'. Even today this is regarded as one of the best expositions ever written about this specialised field of Art. Good copies of the 1928 edition are eagerly sought by dealers and students in Europe and America.

Early in his career, Bliss stated he wanted to 'draw trees really well'. In a variety of media, he used his characteristic muted colours and the clean lines of an engraver to celebrate the English and Scottish Landscapes. Sadly, much of the work of his talented youth was lost. When war broke out in 1939, his collection of engraved blocks was still mostly unpublished. During the Blitz, the entire collection was stolen from his London home. However, almost forty years after the theft, sixteen of the missing blocks were identified at an auction in Somerset. They had not been properly cared for and the bigger ones split when printing was attempted. Thus good prints of his wood engravings, perhaps the most characteristic expression of his Art, are rare.

WORK IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Cardiff National Museum of Wales
Edinburgh Gallery of Modern Art
Glasgow City Art Gallery
Leamington Art Gallery
London The British Museum
Victoria & Albert Museum
The Tate Gallery
Manchester Education Authority
National Arts Collection Fund
Perth City Art Gallery
The Contemporary Art Society

PUBLICATIONS

1925 Border Ballads (illustrations) OUP
1926 The History Of Rasselas by Dr. S. Johnson (illustrations) JM Dent London
1928 The Spanish Lady & 2 other stories by Cervantes (illustrations) OUP
1928 A History of Wood Engraving JM Dent
1929 The Palace of Pleasure by William Painter (illustrations) Cresset Press London
1934 The Devil In Scotland (introductory text& illustrations) Maclehose London
1938 Some Tales of Mystery & Imagination by A.E. Poe Penguin Books
1952 Memoirs of Prince Alexei Haimatoff by T.J. Hogg (illustrations) Folio Society London
1979 Edward Bowden (a biography) The Pendomer Press Godalming
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DimensionsSheet 14.5 x 22.5 cm, image 10.2 x 15.7 cm Mount 26.5 x 30.9 cm, sight 11.5 x 16.8 cm Category Antique Pictures / Engravings / Art Period 1920s Antiques Material Paper Origin British Artist Douglas Percy Bliss Condition Condition This print has been lightly cleaned by an accredited conservator and mounted using acid free conservation board. Item code as176a206 Status Sold

SellerRadnorshire Fine Arts Ltd

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Radnorshire Fine Arts Ltd


Radnorshire Fine Arts LtdPrivate dealer
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Powys
Mid Wales

Tel : 01597 272 439

Non UK callers : +44 1597 272 439
 
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Douglas Percy Bliss (1900-1984)
 
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