EXTRACTS: illustrators issue 2 © 2012 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition))

3 A Brush With FITZROVIA the elegant art of David Wright By Peter Richardson T he number twelve held a particular significance for DavidWright. It was twelve years into the twentieth century that he was born and, in the year of 1925, the twelve-year old Wright was standing at a hospital bedside as the life slowly ebbed away from his father, a man whose artistic ambitions had brought his family to the brink of penury and driven an insurmountable wedge between himself and David’s mother. David had made the visit on his own and his grief was compounded by the knowledge that he would have to make a twelve-mile journey unaided through London’s darkening streets to inform his mother of the passing of her estranged spouse. Added to the immediate heartache that David was enduring was the realization that his immediate prospects were far from certain and that continuing with his education was no longer viable. Things did indeed look particularly bleak for the boy. The world of the 1920s was not an indulgent environment for bright children with no immediate means of support but, fortunately for David, his paternal aunts took the boy under their wing and provided him with a home and a career path, training him for work as a commercial artist at the studio of his uncle, Gilbert Wright. The studio was run along the lines of the American studio system with each member of the family having their own specialities, be it lingerie, domestic appliances or fashion drawing. David eventually attained the post of assistant to his uncle who by this stage was kept fully occupied working for the prestigious illustrated weekly newspaper, The Graphic . The years spent assisting his uncle were in many ways an ideal training ground for the young artist. Sharing a studio with a variety of relatives David refined and honed his drawing and painting skills whilst developing a graphic awareness that enabled him to graduate to producing covers ABOVE: David Wright pictured at his Whitehill home. FACING PAGE: One of Wright’s quintessentially upper class lovelies rendered in ink and gouache on brown board.