Dorothea Braby

Dorothea Braby
Born 17 October 1909
London
Died 1987 (aged 7778)
Nationality British
Education
Known for Design, illustration

Dorothea Braby (17 October 1909-1987) was an English artist. Although she had a long career as a freelance designer producing work for several well-known companies, Braby is best known for the book illustrations she created, particularly those for the Golden Cockerel Press.

Biography

Braby was born and grew up in London. She attended the St Felix School in Southwold before studying, between 1926 and 1930, at the Central School of Arts and Crafts.[1] Braby also studied art in Paris and Florence and for a time was enrolled at the Heatherley School of Fine Art.[1][2][3] During her design career she produced work for The Radio Times, The Studio and for ICI.[1] Between 1937 and 1955 Braby illustrated a number of books, including several volumes produced by the Golden Cockerel Press.[2] She spent eighteen months working on their 1948 edition of the Mabinogion.[4] For The Saga of Llywarch the Old, Braby created colour engravings that resembled mediaeval ivory tablets.[4] Among the other books she illustrated were a 1950 edition of John Keats' Poems and a 1954 edition of Oscar Wilde's Lord Arthur Savile's Crime. Her own volume, The Way of Wood Engraving was published in 1953.[1]

Braby exhibited widely both in Britain and abroad. The Society of Women Artists, the Hampstead Artists' Council and the Arts Council all displayed works by Braby.[1] Later in life she gave up working as a artist full-time for a career in welfare.[2] A memorial exhibition was held at Burgh House in Hampstead in 1988.[2]

Selected works

Books illustrated by Braby included[4]

  • Mr Chambers and Perephone by C.Whitfield, Golden Cockerel Press, 1937
  • The Ninety-First Psalm by C.Whitfield, Golden Cockerel Press, 1944
  • The Lottery Ticket by V.G.Calderon, Golden Cockerel Press, 1945
  • The Mabinogion by V.G.Calderon, Golden Cockerel Press, 1948
  • Gilgamesh, King of Erech by F.L. Lucas, Golden Cockerel Press, 1948
  • Poems by John Keats, Folio Society, 1950
  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Golden Cockerel Press, 1952
  • The Fearless Treasure by Noel Streatfeild, Joseph, 1953
  • Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde, Folio Society, 1954
  • The Semi-Attached Couple by Emily Eden, Folio Society, 1954
  • The Saga of Llywarch the Old by Glyn Jones, Golden Cockerel Press, 1955

Braby also wrote and illustrated The Commandments, published by Lewis in 1946, and The Way of Wood Engraving, published in 1953.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 David Buckman (1998). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 1, A to L. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0 95326 095 X.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Frances Spalding (1990). 20th Century Painters and Sculptors. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1 85149 106 6.
  3. Grant M. Waters (1975). Dictionary of British Artists Working 1900-1950. Eastbourne Fine Art.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Alan Horne (1994). The Dictionary of 20th Century British Book Illustrators. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1 85149 1082.
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