Galleries - November 2024

This is a review that will be valued by those with an interest in the development of the cartoon, illustration and commercial art. This visual celebration delights on so many levels; not least, it illustrates the particular joie de vivre, passion and foibles of its members as modernity finally took its place at the London Sketch Club. SYNOPSIS The book is a celebration of 125 years of the London Sketch Club which has been home to some of this country’s finest cartoonists, illustrators and artists including, in the early years, John Hassall, Edmund Dulac and W. Heath Robinson. After a short introduction and chronology, each decade up to the present is illustrated in images drawn from the Club’s extensive archive of original artwork, posters and photographs. They not only show the extraordinary skill and humour of the members’ work but also their unconventional and eccentric sense of fun at their parties and dances. Independently published, The London Sketch Club – A Visual Celebration, 1898–2023 (ISBN No: 978-1-3999-7097-6) features 387 illustrations in its 176 pages. It is available to purchase in hard cover, priced £40.00, directly from the London Sketch Club https://londonsketchclub.com/anniversary-book ABOUT THE AUTHOR “As the 120th President of the Club it has been a pleasure to bring together A Visual Celebration and see how many people who have shaped British art and society, have passed through the Club over the years including Baden-Powell, Arthur Conan Doyle and W. Heath Robinson.” Anthony Cohen is a graphic designer and is the current President of the London Sketch Club.