Edward Bawden, Brighton Pier, 1958, Linocut on paper, Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery (The Higgins Bedford), © Estate of Edward Bawden
You were one of us.
A special Englishman
Who saw life in the mirror
Of our houses, fields, trees, cities,
In the steam of stations,
Crenellation of seaside
Piers, beach days and market hubbub.
That Thaxted policeman.
His bike was what we saw too,
And a pigeon with ‘Underground’
Eyes showed your sense of fun.
You made us permanent as
Indelible ink, as memorable
As countless book jackets,
Posters, maps, but always us
Transformed, made new, reborn.
Designer, line magician, discoverer,
Artist not of floating worlds but of the past we once inhabited.
Poem inspired by the Edward Bawden exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery
One Comment
I love Michael Baron’s poem about Bawden with a wonderful illustration by the great man himself.