Great Bardfield Artists

The Great Bardfield artists were individual who were drawn to the beauty and simplicity of life in the Northwest Essex countryside during the mid-20th century. They were diverse in style but shared a love for figurative art.

Initially Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious settled in Great Bardfield,soon followed by artists and printmakers: John Aldridge RA, George Chapman, Stanley Clifford-Smith, Audrey Cruddas, Walter Hoyle, Sheila Robinson, Michael Rothenstein, Kenneth Rowntree,and Marianne Straub. Other artists associated with the group include Bernard Cheese, Tirzah Garwood, Paul and John Nash, Graham Sutherland and John Piper.

We have a wide range of books on a number of the artists within and around the circle, including titles illustrated by Bawden and Ravilious.