Exhibition

Edward Bawden: Trains, Planes & Automobiles

The Higgins Bedford, Bedford
11 March 2023 - 3 March 2024
Tue – Sat, 11am – 5pm Sun and Bank Holiday Mon, 2p
Free to all

Let Edward Bawden transport you in this exhibition celebrating all things travel. Drawn from the Edward Bawden archive, see large linocuts of London's iconic stations and an array of wonderful vehicles from hot air balloon to jumbo jets and tall ships to cruise liners.

Edward Bawden (1903–1989) was a printmaker, illustrator, commercial artist, watercolourist, muralist and designer. The same strengths underlie all his work: wit, originality and a unique way of seeing the world. Between 1981 and his death in 1989 he donated the contents of his studio to the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery (now The Higgins Bedford). He gave over 3,000 items, from work done while he was a student at the Royal College of Art in the 1920s right through to commissions he received in the 1980s.

This newest exhibition, drawn from this archive, explores how trains, planes, automobiles and the occasional boat are in so much of his works including well-known prints, advertising campaigns and private commissions.

Bawden's adverts for Shell, posters for London Underground and designs for P&O are all included as well as his large linocuts of Liverpool Street and Braintree Stations. With over forty works there are hot air balloons over beaches, waving pilots in early biplanes, vicars driving through sheep and yapping dogs chasing anything with wheels.

This listing is supplied by one of our museum partners and is not moderated by Art Fund.

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How to get there

The Higgins Bedford

Castle Lane, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 3XD
01234 718618

Free to all

Opening times

Tue – Sat, 11am – 5pm Sun and Bank Holiday Mon, 2pm – 5pm Closed Good Friday and Christmas

How to get there

IndividualTiana Clarke Please note this is an example card and not a reflection of the final product

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