Title - Somerset - Travel by Train.
Location - maybe Dunster, Somerset, England.
Artist - Leslie Arthur Wilcox (1904-1982).
Description - A lovely traditional village scene in Somerset, with no motor vehicles and a lot of thatched roofs. It appears to involve a certain amount of artistic licence, but the main view appears to be based on the marketplace of Dunster.
Year Published - 1950s
Size - Double Royal (approx 40 x 25in or 101.5 x 63.5cm) plus linen border.
Other Details:
Original Vintage British Railway Travel Poster.
Published by British Railways (Western Region) P.R. 123
Printed in Great Britain by The British Colour Printing Co Ltd, London.
Condition Grade and Condition Report:
Grade: B+, We have had this poster conservation-backed on linen. For more details of the process please see the "Conservation" page of this website.
Repairs to some edge tears, many creases with surface wear mainly in the top section of the poster with watercolour pencil touch-ups. Some of the wear marks are still visible when viewed closely, but the poster displays very well. More detailed photos are available on request if required.
More About The Artist:
Leslie Arthur Wilcox RI, RSMA, was born in Fulham in 1904.
He was known mainly as a marine artist working in oils, but was also a watercolourist, illustrator, poster artist, marine model-maker and author. He was for some years Honorary Secretary of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. His works are in many collections around the world, including the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and the Royal Collection.
He volunteered for the navy before conscription started, and had spent only a few months in the Naval Patrol Service before his skills were recognised and he was seconded to the Naval Camouflage unit at Leamington Spa, where he spent the rest of the war making model ships and testing camouflage designs.