George Bissil (1896-1973)

Born Fairfield, Gloucestershire he spent childhood at Langley Mill near Nottingham where his father was a miner His father worked in the mines from age 11-13; joined Sappers for WWI, invalided out 1918 after gassing and returned to the mines.

He briefly attended Nottingham School of Art; worked as postman and began selling drawings; worked as a pavement artist in London 1922; caricatures reproduced in the Evening Standard 9/10/22; drew mines for the Arts League of Service 1923-4 which were included in their travelling portfolios and led to a solo show at the Redfern 1925 and critical acclaim; exhibited with the Redfern 1926 and 1927 and at the Claridge Gallery 1928; commissioned to design posters for the London & North Eastern Railway, the Post Office and Shell; designed decoration of Arnold Haskill’s house in Kensington; started woodcuts in Paris 1925, produced a series with Redfern Gallery 1926-7; interest in his work faded in 1930s, occasional exhibitions at the Redfern; moved to Hampshire and painted landscapes.