Arthur WRAGG (1903-1976) Journey to the end of the Night and...

Estimate

£100 - £200

Arthur WRAGG (1903-1976) Journey to the end of the Night and There is a Green Hill Far Away - illustrations from Jesus Wept c.1935 Journey to the End of The Night illustrated within Judy Brook's biography of Arthur Wragg and published as 'Against the Signal in left-wing publication The Clarion, May 12th 1934 in response to British Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, who stated that not a day would be lost in making the airforce of the United Kingdom as powerful as other nations within striking distance; each pen and ink on card, graphite annotations, 22cm x 38cm and 26.5cm x 37.5cm. (2) Frederick Roberts Johnson and Arthur Wragg, two friends who met whilst training to become commercial artists, moved together to Polperro in 1924, staying at 'The House on the Props'. They had somewhat contrasting styles which somehow sometimes overlapped; Wragg's style was likened to David Low and Victor 'Vicky Weisz, sharing within his lifetime the same respect and public interest as the two aforementioned. His work was also regularly compared to that of Aubrey Beardsley, though Wragg's own heroes were Cruickshank, Albrecht Durer and William Blake, the latter being someone he was also compared to within his lifetime. Wragg's first book was hugely successful, having to be reprinted three times in one year and it became Book of The Year in America. Frederick Roberts Johnson was a very succesful commercial artist and was often the one who usually went to London in search of commissions for the pair. He often used the name 'Essex' or 'Sax', drawing funnies for Punch, Everyman magazine and Tribune, as well as advertisements for Lyons Tea Shops and producing dustjacket book illustrations for various authors. His style was more varied and experimental, with impressionism, cubism and abstract examples of his work within the sale.