John Farleigh
Encyclopedia
John Farleigh also known as Frederick William Charles Farleigh, was an English wood-engraver, noted for his illustrations of George Bernard Shaw
's work The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, which caused controversy when released due to the religious, sexual and racial themes within the writing and John Farleigh's complementary (and risqué) wood engravings commissioned by Shaw for the book. He is also known for his illustrations of D. H. Lawrence
's work, The Man Who Died, and for the posters he designed for London County Council Tramways
and London Transport
. He was also a painter, lithographer, author and art tutor.
Farleigh left school at 14 and enlisted as an apprentice at the Artists' Illustrators Agency in London, applying himself to lettering, wax engravings and black and white drawings, intended for advertising. He also attended drawing classes at the Bolt Court School. In 1918 he was drafted into the army and served until peace was declared in November of the same year. He resumed his apprenticeship and was awarded a government grant enabling him to enrol for three years at the London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts (later the Central School of Art and Design). The teaching staff included Bernard Meninsky
and Noel Rooke who trained him in wood-engraving. Between 1922 and 1925 Farleigh was an art teacher at Rugby School
, thereafter returning to London and assuming a post at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, where he taught antique and still-life drawing and later, illustration. Here he tutored some extremely talented wood-engravers, including Monica Poole
.
Farleigh was a founder member and chairman of the Crafts Centre of Great Britain. In 1941 the British Council commissioned him to design the title page of the catalogue for the Exhibition of Modern British Crafts.
Farleigh's work was widely exhibited - Leicester Gallery, Manchester City Art Gallery, Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Royal Scottish Academy
and Cooling and Sons Gallery. His wood-engravings appeared in the 1925 Golden Cockerel Press
edition of Selected Essays by The Reverend Jonathan Swift
and in the books published by the Shakespeare Head Press in the late 1920s. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers
in 1937 and a full member in 1948.
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's work The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, which caused controversy when released due to the religious, sexual and racial themes within the writing and John Farleigh's complementary (and risqué) wood engravings commissioned by Shaw for the book. He is also known for his illustrations of D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
's work, The Man Who Died, and for the posters he designed for London County Council Tramways
London County Council Tramways
The London County Council Tramways was an extensive network of public street tramways that was operated by the council throughout the County of London, UK, from 1899 to 1933, when they were taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board....
and London Transport
London Transport Board
The London Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1963-1969. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.-History:The...
. He was also a painter, lithographer, author and art tutor.
Farleigh left school at 14 and enlisted as an apprentice at the Artists' Illustrators Agency in London, applying himself to lettering, wax engravings and black and white drawings, intended for advertising. He also attended drawing classes at the Bolt Court School. In 1918 he was drafted into the army and served until peace was declared in November of the same year. He resumed his apprenticeship and was awarded a government grant enabling him to enrol for three years at the London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts (later the Central School of Art and Design). The teaching staff included Bernard Meninsky
Bernard Meninsky
Bernard Meninsky was a figurative artist, painter of figures and landscape in oils, watercolour and gouache, draughtsman and teacher. He was born in Karotopin now in the Ukraine but raised in Liverpool where he attended the Liverpool School of Art in 1906 after initially attending evening classes...
and Noel Rooke who trained him in wood-engraving. Between 1922 and 1925 Farleigh was an art teacher at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
, thereafter returning to London and assuming a post at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, where he taught antique and still-life drawing and later, illustration. Here he tutored some extremely talented wood-engravers, including Monica Poole
Monica Poole
Monica Poole , was an English wood-engraver.She lived in Kent for the greater part of her life, and according to Anne Stevens "found her subjects, and shapes in the rolling chalk downland, the lush wealden country and the shore line"...
.
Farleigh was a founder member and chairman of the Crafts Centre of Great Britain. In 1941 the British Council commissioned him to design the title page of the catalogue for the Exhibition of Modern British Crafts.
Farleigh's work was widely exhibited - Leicester Gallery, Manchester City Art Gallery, Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Royal Scottish Academy
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
and Cooling and Sons Gallery. His wood-engravings appeared in the 1925 Golden Cockerel Press
Golden Cockerel Press
Golden Cockerel Press was a major English private press operating between 1920 and 1961.The Press was founded by Harold Midgley Taylor in 1920 and was first in Waltham St Lawrence in Berkshire where he had unsuccessfully tried fruit farming...
edition of Selected Essays by The Reverend Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
and in the books published by the Shakespeare Head Press in the late 1920s. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers
Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers
The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, until 1991 the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers is an art institution based in London, England. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers was a society of etchers established in London in 1880 and given a Royal Charter in 1888...
in 1937 and a full member in 1948.
Works featuring Farleigh's illustrations
A comprehensive list falls outside the scope of this article, but may be seen here.Further reading
- Graven Image - (Macmillan, London, 1939)
- It Never Dies - (The Sylvan Press, London, 1946)
- Monica PooleMonica PooleMonica Poole , was an English wood-engraver.She lived in Kent for the greater part of her life, and according to Anne Stevens "found her subjects, and shapes in the rolling chalk downland, the lush wealden country and the shore line"...
, The Wood Engravings of John Farleigh - (Gresham Books, Henley-on-Thames, 1985)