Ravilious

'Ravilious: Submarine' celebrates the creation of a remarkable series of prints made by Eric Ravilious during the dark winter of 1940/41. It was rare to find an artist who descended into the depths to portray the interior of a naval submarine, yet it is not just the subject matter that makes the Submarine Series so powerful; the medium too is extraordinary. One of the most demanding of the printmaker's arts, auto-lithography enjoyed a golden period in Europe between the wars, and in Britain the Submarine Series represents a pinnacle of achievement. In this lavishly illustrated 72 page book James Russell explores the sequence of events that gave us Ravilious the lithographer, a compelling story that introduces Soviet revolutionaries in Moscow, Russian émigrés in Paris, Jewish immigrants in the East End of London and a host of visionary printers, publishers and designers. All ten lithographs in the Submarine Series are shown, each accompanied by a short descriptive essay which explores the scene depicted, introducing people and giving insights into the dangerous life of a submariner during World War II.