The Studio. Volume 80

November 1920

Storage Journal N1 S88a

London: Studio

The peace and security that came in the years after the end of WWI ushered in a new appreciation for art by the general public. While people of modest means could not afford ‘one-off’ art pieces they could indulge in the relatively inexpensive prints that artists were making. The fine arts magazine, Studio, states that ‘The growing appreciation of the wood-cut as a vehicle of original expression is without doubt one of the outstanding phenomena in the progress of art at the present day.’ It was at this time that Robert Gibbings (1889-1958) as a wood engraver was noticed. The engraving of a cow, seen here, was said by Gibbings to be his first ‘real’ engraving on wood and was part of the first exhibition staged by the newly formed Society of Wood Engravers (established May 1920) whose founders included Robert Gibbings and Eric Gill.