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Rigby Graham - A Brief Biography

(10 Mar 2005)
1931
Born in Stretford, Lancashire.
Educated at Wyggeston Grammar School, Leicester.

1947
Drawing in France and Switzerland.

1948
2 a.m. January 1st arrives at Rosslare in Ireland and walks to Dublin in the snow sleeping rough. And back. His first visit to Ireland.

1949
Begins full-time at Leicester College of Art and Design under D. P. Carrington, Eric Hall, Bob Leonard, R. L. Young and Cyril Satorsky.

1954
Teaches in Leicester at Ellis Boys’ School, Lansdowne Boys’ School and the Gateway School.
Paints in Brittany and the Channel Islands.

1956
Teaches in the Printing School, Leicester College of Art.

1959
Illustrates Die Sonnette an Orpheus R. M. Rilke, Orpheus Press, with original lithographs.
Teaches graphic design at Leicester College of Art.
Illustrates John Bests’ Poems in Mud Time Orpheus Press.
Paints in Sicily.
Illustrates Michael Davies’ Gregynog Leicester College of Art.

1959
Paints large mural Sicily for Woodstock Junior School, Leicester.
Appointed to School of Teacher Training, Leicester College of Art.
Paints six murals at New Parks House Junior School, Leicester with Maurice Hancock.

1960
Illustrates Oscar Wilde’s The Nightingale and the Rose Saint Bernard’s Press.
Illustrates Shelley’s Lines written among the Euganean Hills Pandora Press.
Illustrates Vale Saint Bernard’s
Press.
Produces woodcuts for Federico Garcia Lorca’s Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías St. Anthony’s Press, Leicester.

1961
Illustrates The Living Theatre Pandora Press and Thea Scott’s Fingal’s Cave Pandora Press.
Writes and illustrates The Poppy and the Pomegranate Grange Fibre Co. Leicester.

1962
Illustrates Penelope Holt’s A Sicilian Memory Pandora Press.

1964
Visits Corsica.
Paints two murals in Lansdowne Boys’ School, Leicester.
Illustrates Oliver Bayldon’s translation of Imberdis’ The Papermaker’s Craft Twelve by Eight.

1965
Return visit to paint in Corsica.
Publishes Romantic Book Illustration in England 1943-55 Private Libraries Association, Pinner.
The Book Illustrations of Paul Nash Brewhouse Press.
Paints Construction of the M1 mural at New Parks Boys’ School.
Paints two murals on Cornish Tin Mining at Eyres Monsell Junior School.
Paints mural Corsican Capriccio at Overdale Junior School.

1966
Writes and illustrates The Pickworth Fragment Brewhouse Press.
Produces multicolour linocuts for Wilhelm Hiener’s South Africa for Rolf Hennequel’s Wattle Grove Press of Tasmania.
Starts writing and illustrating articles for The American Book Collector and continues regularly for next ten years.

1967
Paints large mural The Four Seasons at Woodstock Junior School, Leicester.
Paints in Ireland.
Exhibits illustrations and drawings at the Private Press Today12 Exhibition, Kings Lynn Festival.
Meets Michael Ayrton and later visits him at Bradfields.
With help from Peter Hoy, Douglas Martin, Toni Savage, Michael Felmingham, Patrick Bridgwater and the departments of French and German of Leicester University, organises a series of exhibitions on French Graphic Art, Street Literature, Concrete Poetry, Demolition, ‘Little Magazines’, International Woodcuts, East European Book Illustration, Rex Whistler, Broadsheets, John Minton etc.
Illustrates In Particular, Oxford.
Writes John Minton Cog Press.
Illustrates John Cotton’s poetry magazine Priapus and continues over several years.
Illustrates Fishpaste Oxford.

1968
Illustrates David Tew’s The Oakham Canal Brewhouse Press.
Publishes Slieve Bingian Cog Press.
Makes several visits to Ireland.
Illustrates Philip Ward’s A Musical Breakfast Brewhouse Press; Peter Hoy’s Camus in English Brewhouse Press and Hugh Collinson’s Five Duets Cog Press.
Meets John Piper at Fawley Bottom, Oxon.
Buys ruined Moorcock Hall in Nidderdale.

1969
Illustrates Poems of August Stramm Brewhouse Press.
Paints on the West Coast of Ireland.
Illustrates Spike Milligan’s Values Offcut Press.
Illustrates Penelope Holt and Edmund Thorpe’s Gold and Books Brewhouse Press.

1970
Several visits to the Channel Islands.
Publishes An Alderney Afternoon Brewhouse Press.
Publishes Monotypes Brewhouse Press.
Produces many woodcuts and monotypes.

1971
Painting in the Aran Islands.
Illustrates Dennis Prestidge’s Tom Cribb at Thistleton Gap Brewhouse Press.
Writes and illustrates Abbeys and Churches (with M. McCord) Crannog Press, Belfast.
Invited to participate in Illustration and Figura exhibitions of the Internationale Buchkunst-Ausstellung Leipzig.

1972
Produces prizefighting drawings for Tom Langley’s The life of Tom Sayers Vance Harvey (1973).
Writes Ruins – a personal anthology (with Michael Felmingham) Country Life.
Illustrates Alan Tucker’s Apple People Poet and Printer Press; Tom Langley’s Life of John L. Sullivan Vance Harvey.
Writes The Casquets…the most dangerous Channel Islands Brewhouse Press.
Illustrates Mervyn James’ Mountains Brewhouse Press.

1973
Walks The Peddlars Way with David Rogers and Trevor Hickman producing drawings and paintings for The Peddlars Way Brewhouse Press (1974).
Writes Catalogue to an Exhibition of Paintings, Prints and Illustrated Books by John Piper, Gadsby Gallery.
Travels round Ireland with Trevor
Hickman working on drawings for Tom Langley’s Knight of the Fives – the life of Sir Daniel Donnelly. After all the drawings are completed the publisher abandons the project.
Illustrates Leon Spiro’s Cobwebs from California Cog Press.

1974
Illustrates Frank Lissauer’s The Lost Shepherd New Broom Press.
Visits Lucerne to see Hans Erni, many subsequent visits.
Writes Hans Erni catalogue for Gadsby Gallery.
Illustrates Charles Flores’ A Voice from Kalkara New Broom Press.
Illustrates several issues of Littack Ember Press.
Illustrates Tom Langley’s The Life of Peter Jackson Vance Harvey.

1975
Publishes Deserted Cornish Tin Mines Brewhouse Press; James Joyce’s Tower Brewhouse Press; Edmund Spenser’s Kilcolman Brewhouse Press.
Illustrates David Roger’s The Peddlar’s Way Brewhouse Press; Frank Lissauer’s A Visit to Ireland Cog Press.

1976
Frank Gadsby commissions Graham’s Leicestershire.
Illustrates Victor Fenech’s London Pictures Cog Press. Illustrates the Yorkshire Review.

1977
Publishes Patterned Papers Brewhouse Press.
Illustrates Charles Baudelaire’s Spleen de Paris Saint Bernards Press, Coalville.

1978
Publishes String and Walnuts – Hans Erni an enthusiasm Gadsby Gallery and Seriatim – Paintings, Places and Asides Brewhouse Press.

1979
Illustrates Spike Milligan’s Twelve Poems that made December colder, and Arthur Caddick’s A fifty year span for New Broom Press.

1980
Publishes Some Irish Drawings New Broom Press.
Works in Switzerland for several months for the Hans Erni Foundation.
Graham’s Leicestershire published, Gadsby Gallery.
Illustrated Pieter de Vos’ De Lof van de Bottermarkt with woodcuts, In de Bonnefant, Banholt, Holland.
A Broken String of Beads published.

1981
Illustrates Spike Milligan’s If only I were bald New Broom Press.
Illustrates Arthur Caddick’s Chance Medley New Broom Press.
Illustrates John Cotton’s Day Book Priapus Press.

1982
Painting in Crete.

1983
Visits Greece.
Leicester Polytechnic confer an Associate Fellowship upon him.
Writes on John Piper’s Book Illustrations for the Tate Gallery Exhibition Catalogue.
Contributes to Geoffrey Elborn’s John Piper on his eightieth birthday Stourton Press.

1983
Painting in Crete and Ireland.

1984
Drawing in Venice.
Painting industrial scenes in
Germany.

1985
Publishes Murphy’s Select Bar In de Bonnefant Press, Banholt, Holland.
Starts producing etchings again.
Meets Peter Long with whom he begins a very fruitful association and who subsequently produces a number of Graham’s lithographs, linocuts, woodcuts and experimental relief prints at Necton.

1986
University of Wales at Aberystwyth purchase a series of etchings and drawings, and establish a special collection of Graham’s work.
Painting in Ireland.
Drawing in Berlin.
Works on large woodcuts of Venice and of East Berlin.

1987
At the instigation of Mike Goldmark, started on a series of large woodcuts, to be published by the Goldmark Gallery.
Returns to Venice.

1988
Writes Anthony Gross Catalogue for Goldmark Exhibition.
Illustrates Peter Scupham’s Under the Barrage with a suite of colour woodcuts for Hans van Eijk’s In de Bonnefant at Banholt, Holland.
Paints in Yugoslavia with Mike Goldmark.

1989
Working in Rye and Winchelsea producing drawings for Alan Tucker’s volume of Winchelsea, Rye and ‘Denis Duval’, Selections from Henry James, Hanborough Books, Oxon.
Works on a mural for Leicester Royal Infirmary, Linear Accelerator Suite.
Paints in Portugal.
Lorca’s Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, printed by Hans van Eijk, In de Bonnefant, Banholt, Holland illustrated with Graham’s 1959 woodcuts and a new suite cut in 1989.
Paints in Tenerife.
Rigby Graham’s Sketch Book Drawings published by Hanborough Parrot Press.

1990
Working on a suite of colour woodcuts for Kippers & Sawdust to be published by the Old Stile Press, Llandogo.
‘On Board’ Productions of Bretton, Peterborough release videofilm Watercolour Painting with Rigby Graham.
Painting in Malta, Holland, Switzerland.
Writes Michael Sandle – Etchings Catalogue for Goldmark Gallery.
Melitensia Art Gallery, Lija, purchases all Graham’s Malta paintings to date.
Major operation for cancer at Leicester Royal Infirmary, where he does a series of drawings of other unfortunates.

1991
‘On Board’ Productions releases videofilm Rigby Graham Woodcuts.
Rigby Graham painter & printmaker produced by Pontycymmer Videograms, Bridgend.
Works on the Malachite film John Clare’s Journey for Anglia Television.

1992
Kippers & Sawdust, Old Stile Press, Llandogo published.
Paints a journey down the Rhine.

1993
Writes John Farrington for Goldmark Gallery.
Revisits Malta and starts a major series of watercolours, returning in each of the next five years.
Paints in Normandy.
Writes (with Frances Spalding) John Minton Catalogue (1994) Oriel 31, Newtown, Montgomeryshire.
Illustrates Michael Bown’s Woodcuts and Words – with some thoughts on cutting by Rigby Graham, Previous Parrot Press, Church Hanborough, Oxford.

1994
Manchester Metropolitan University Library takes over the David Holmes Archive of Graham’s work.
Writes Catalogue for Mensud Keco Exhibition at the Goldmark Gallery.

1995
Visits New York.
Writes Peter Brannan catalogue for Goldmark Gallery.

1996
Writes ‘Hans Erni ein Vormittag bei Wolfensberger’ in Graphische Kunst 1996.
Produces woodcuts for Andrew Motion’s Does that Hurt? Clarion Publishing.
Writes and cuts a series of woodblocks for Toni Savage, In de Bonnefant, Banholt, Holland. These posthumous portraits were a tribute to his old friend.
Writes Goya – Etchings for Goldmark Gallery Goya Anniversary Exhibition.

1997
Paints at Lindos, Rhodes.
Cuts woodblocks for The Clonmel Incident (Woubrugge, Avalon Pers).
Paints in Jersey and on the Écrehous Islands.
Writes Kokoschka catalogue for Goldmark Gallery exhibition.

1998
Visits Switzerland with Malcolm Yorke.
Painting in Ireland.
Drawing in Wales and working on a series of colour woodcuts to Pennants Tour of North Wales to be published by Gwasg Gregynog.

1999
Hal Bishop and Michael Bourns Cyril published, with 45 woodcuts by Graham, In de Bonnefant, Banholt, Holland.
Hans van Eijk’s Cyril on the Grand Tour published with 25 woodcuts by Graham, In de Bonnefant, Banholt, Holland.
Four concurrent exhibitions in Leicestershire and Rutland.
(In preparation) Hans van Eijk’s Bibliography of Rigby Graham.

2000
June, painting in Ireland.
August, painting in Prague, Berlin and Dresden. Writes Robert Dawson catalogue for Goldmark Gallery. Drawing in North Wales for woodcuts for Pennant’s Tour of Wales Gwasg
Gregynog.

2000-2002
Working on a series of stained glass panels with Nicholas Bechgard of Amberley, Glos.

2001
A long sequence of watecolours of Packhorse Bridges of Leicestershire and Rutland completed. Those which were not dispersed or destroyed were published as postcards by Goldmark Gallery. Painting in Scotland. Visits Iceland. With Malachite film crew in Ireland shooting Rigby Graham’s Irish Journey.

2002
Painting in Croatia. Painting in Scotland. Painting in Italy – Lake Garda, Sienna and Florence. Painting in west of Scotland. Colour woodcuts for Pennant completed.

2003
Goldmark film Rigby Graham’s Irish Journey issued.