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art' was the remarkable offer made by Robert Austin to his new student,
Charles Chaplin. Austin, an eminent engraver himself, had become
Chaplin's tutor at the Royal College of Art in September 1947. Chaplin,
a mature student, was a printer's commercial engraver; he was also an
amateur artist whose prints had already received some recognition and
had been hung at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions. He had,
however, had little formal education or art training. Austin's
encouragement was a major influence on Chaplin's subsequent career as
an artist.
EDITION 30
EXHIBITED RE 1968 No. 223:
Gotene 1975
Rickmansworth. The artist wrote: “Drawings were made for this plate at Walker’s Boat
Yard. My son, Jon, was working there, filling in time before going to Oxford, chipping inch-
thick rust off old iron barges, later helping to paint the traditional decorations on the wooden
narrow boats which were made and repaired on the canal-side yard. He was proud of his
painting and wanted me to see – that’s when the sketches were made (1954). Many sketches
went into the making of the plate. Many years later I engraved the plate from the drawings,
and went along to the boatyard to check one or two things. The yard and all the slipways and
wonderful workshop had completely gone, and all the old craftsmen with them.”
The site is now a Tesco’s superstore. In the right hand corner the artist engraved two of the
small tools he used on the plate. A small nude also appears. No less than eight signed trial
proofs exist of this plate in every stage of its development.
during his lifetime, using several techniques including his favourite
- line engraving on copper. The prints are illustrated in
chronological order, with technical details and historical
information, such as exhibitions and publication references. The
text contains fascinating extracts from the artist's notes on the
making and printing of his plates, as well as many personal
comments.
(Knightscote Farm)
LINE ENGRAVING 220 x
205 mm
EDITION: 30 (A few
non-editioned prints of this plate
were also made by Corrie Graddon
on Japanese Paper; the illustration is
from one of these.)
EXHIBITED: Royal
Academy, 1967, No.1149 RE 1968,
No.60
CPE, 1969 Götene 1975
of abandoned farming artifacts. The artist’s brother, Edward, was tenant of the farm at this
time.
Chaplin noted: “This plate has now become, along with others of this nature, of great interest
to collectors, and is a recording of many old tools and crafts.” The plate includes a reference
to a promotion in the career of son, Jon, as well as the first of the little naked ladies.
into a large working-class family, his early love of drawing, the
accident which left him with only one eye, and his apprenticeship
in a large printing works. After the war, he enrolled as a Saturday
student at the Royal College of Art and, thereafter, his style
developed significantly. Following his retirement from the printing
industry, his prolific output continued unabated, encouraged by
new contacts in Sweden and Canada. A shy man who loved the
countryside and recorded its trees, lakes, weather, wildlife, and the
fascinating rural clutter of its farmyard, his family life is revealed in
the detail of his work and in the memoir.
Chaplin's work is now being discovered by a wider public. This
book collects or the first time the facts concerning all of this prints
as well as the background of his life.
Hilary Chapman in her introduction to the book, as a personal,
affectionate and detailed account of the life and work of the artist.
son, followed a very
different career from
his father. Although
intended for an
apprenticeship in the
printing industry, he
read law at Oxford and
was called to the Bar.
A career in several
leading public
companies followed.
Jon Chaplin is married
with three children and
six grandchildren and
lives in a converted
barn in Chesham,
Buckinghamshire.
