John Buckland-Wright
(1897-1954)
John Buckland-Wright was born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1897. He studied history at Oxford and architecture at London University. He was a self-taught painter and draughtsman, but also an engraver of wood and copper. He was a member of Xylographes Belges, and studied at Stanley William Hayter’s Atelier 17. There he met and worked with artists such as Brancusi, Miro, Picasso, and Matisse. In 1936 he was appointed Director of Atelier 17, and was also commissioned to create book illustrations for the Golden Cockerel Press. Buckland Wright became one of the Press’ principle artists, recognized for images such as those in “Rubalyat of Omar Khayyam” and “Vigil of Venus.” His works are held in the collections of the Museum Meermanno, The Hague; Bibliotheque National, Paris, as well as the London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and The Tate Gallery. A complete collection of his engravings is in The British Museum. He died in 1954.