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.