G R T (Raymond Teane) Cowern (1913 - 1986)

Wadham College, Oxford from the South East before the completion of the new buildings (1952)

  Lithograph 33 x 46 cm A 1953 lithograph of Wadham during the construction of the college's mid-century buildings. Cowern made his drawing of the quad in 1952 and it was reproduced a year later as a lithograph to be published in the "Oxford Almanack". The Oxford Almanack was an annual almanac published by the Oxford University Press for the University of Oxford from 1674 through 2019 (when printing sadly ceased due to "dwindling interest"). The almanac traditionally included engravings or lithographs of the University and information about the upcoming year. Other almanac artists have included James Basire, Michael Burghers, J. M. W. Turner, and John Piper. G R T Cowern was a British painter, illustrator, and accomplished draughtsman. He was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1968. Cowern joined the British Army during the Second World War and served as an intelligence officer and then as a Field Security Officer. Throughout his Army service, Cowern made numerous drawings of his experiences during training and in the Netherlands and Belgium. Several of these works were purchased by the War Artists' Advisory Committee and are now held by the Imperial War Museum in London. Cowern also worked for the Recording Britain project, painting and etching images of historic buildings at risk of destruction in Suffolk, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire. A number of these drawings are now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Condition: generally very good, a little discolouration to the paper, and a tear to the margin (which will be hidden under the mount). If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056.

Dennis Flanders (1915 - 1994)

Wadham College, Oxford, Garden Front

  Lithograph 30 x 48 cm Numbered 117/500 lower left and signed lower right, both in pencil. Signed lower left and titled lower right in the plate. A tranquil view of Wadham, verdant of grass and leafy of tree. Two undergraduates in jeans and t-shirts chat, laden down with books. Dennis Flanders RBA RWS was a British artist and draughtsman who specialised in pen and ink drawings, often of English landscapes and buildings. He is notable for his meticulous depictions of the impact of aerial bombing upon historic buildings during World War Two. After attending the Merchant Taylors' School, Flanders studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic, St. Martin's School of Art, and at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Flanders worked at the School of Military Engineering during World War Two and made models of buildings and landscapes based on aerial reconnaissance photographs. He applied for a commission with the War Artists' Advisory Committee and, although he was unsuccessful, the Committee did agree to purchase several drawings from him. These were mostly detailed depictions of bomb-damaged buildings and churches which included views of St Paul's Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral. After the war, Flanders became a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy and held his first solo exhibition at Colnaghi in 1947. He illustrated several books and published two volumes of prints from his own drawings of British architecture and landscapes, which had been the dominant theme of his artistic career. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other views of Wadham College, Oxford.