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Higgins Bedford gallery: Edward Bawden's beasts go on display

The Edward Bawden Estate Edward Bawden (1903—1989) Aesop's Fables: Ant and Grasshopper, 1970, linocut on paperThe Edward Bawden Estate
The Bawden's Beasts show include linocuts of Aesop's Fables, such as Ant and Grasshopper

An exhibition of artist and illustrator Edward Bawden's pictures of creatures of all sizes has opened in Bedford.

The works of the official World War Two artist are on display until 27 January 2019 at The Higgins Bedford.

The show, Bawden's Beasts, include linocuts of Aesop's Fables characters, such as Ant and Grasshopper.

The exhibition also includes his illustrations for oil firm Shell's advertisements in the 1930s.

The Edward Bawden Estate Edward Bawden (1903—1989) Brussels Exhibition Mural of the Royal Arms of England, 1958, oil and pencil on paperThe Edward Bawden Estate
The exhibition includes Bawden's design of a Brussels Exhibition Mural of the Royal Arms of England, 1958

Bawden, who lived in Great Bardfield and Saffron Walden, Essex, left the gallery his works when he died in 1989 after striking up a friendship with its then-head.

Sarah-Jayne Holland, portfolio holder for culture at Bedford Borough Council, said: "Bedford is very fortunate to house this incredible collection of work by such an influential artist.

Edward Bawden 1943
Bawden was an official war artist in World War Two

"This free exhibition is running for nearly a year at our own local museum and art gallery, right in the town centre."

A spokesman for the council added: "Bawden's Beasts shines a light on the animals - cats, cows and tortoises among them - that inhabit so many of Bawden's prints and illustrations, and the inventive, often hilarious, ways in which he depicts them."

The Edward Bawden Estate Edward Bawden (1903—1989) Aesop's Fables: An Old Crab and a Young, 1970, print.The Edward Bawden Estate
Bawden's Aesop's Fables illustrations include a print titled An Old Crab and a Young
The Edward Bawden Estate Edward Bawden (1903—1989) Press advertisement for Shell: Great Snoring in Norfolk but not a murmur in Shell, c.1932, printThe Edward Bawden Estate
Bawden's illustrations for a press advertisement for oil firm Shell also feature in the show