Edwin La Dell

Thomas Edwin La Dell
Born	Thomas Edwin La Dell (1914-01-07)7 January 1914 Rotherham, Yorkshire, England
Died	27 June 1970(1970-06-27) (aged 56) Maidstone, Kent, England
Education	Sheffield School of Art; Royal College of Art, under John Nash and Barnett Freedman[1]
Known for	Printmaking, lithography, illustration, painting
Notable work	Oxford, Cambridge, Kent and New York series
Spouse(s)	Joan Kohn (m. 1940–1970, his death); 1 son
Elected	Royal Academy of Arts

Thomas Edwin La Dell ARA (7 January 1914 – 27 June 1970) was a British printmaker, lithographer, illustrator and painter active during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Life and career

Edwin La Dell was the son of Thomas La Dell, a Sheffield-born bookbinder, and Ellen (née Boardman).[2] He was christened Thomas (after his father and grandfather) Edwin (following a family tradition on his mother's side), but appears always to have been known as Edwin.[3] After attending Sheffield School of Art, in 1935 he won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art under John Nash; he later became head of the Department of Lithography at the college[4][5] from 1948 until his death in 1970.[6] He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts on 24 April 1969.[7]

La Dell was appointed as an official war artist during the Second World War, working on both public murals and camouflage,[1] but his best known works are those from the post-war era, in particular the lithographs he created for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, for the School Prints scheme,[1] for Lyons Tea Rooms and his own series of Oxford, Cambridge, Kent and New York. His work was exhibited throughout the world during this period under the auspices of the British Council.[8]

One of the artists La Dell worked with during the war was Charles Mozley, whose wife's sister, Joan Kohn, married La Dell in 1940.[9]

La Dell's work is currently held in many collections, including those of the Royal Academy[1] and the Government Art Collection.[10]

La Dell died on 27 June 1970, aged 56.[11]

References

1. Benezit Dictionary of British Graphic Artists and Illustrators, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. 2012. p. 649. ISBN 978-0199923052.
2. England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837–1915, Warwickshire, Vol 6d, page 1452
3. England & Wales Christening Records, 1530–1906. Stoke, Warwickshire, England; Date Range: 1913–1917; Film Number: 1067550
4. Sykes, Christopher Simon (2011). Hockney: The Biography, Volume 1. Random House. p. 79. ISBN 978-1846057083.
5. Martin J. Hopkinson; Clare Tilbury (1999). No Day Without a Line: The History of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, 1880-1999. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum. p. 39. ISBN 1854441191.
6. D., R. (3 July 1970). "Edwin la Dell: Lithographer and teacher". The Times (57908): 10.
7. "Edwin La Dell, A.R.A." RA website. Royal Academy of Arts. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
8. "Edwin La Dell (1919−1970)". The British Council Collection website. The British Council. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
9. "Charles Mozley: The Pantheon Across the Seine". Leicester Galleries. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
10. "Pictures of the Coronation". Government Art Collection website. Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2013. Edwin La Dell's The Crowd in the Mall ... is, however, perhaps closer to reality, showing stair rods of rain descending on people as they shelter under their umbrellas.
11. England & Wales, Death Index, 1916–2007. Registration district Maidstone, Kent, Volume 5f, page 1449

External links

• 8 artworks by or after Edwin La Dell at the Art UK site