Waugh is known for his perception of society and his often darkly humorous prose. Less remembered, however, is his original ambition to be an artist. Now, an exhibition focusing on Waugh’s art opens tomorrow at Maggs Bros in Bedford Square, the latest in a series of shows held in its new premises.
The show, EW Pinxit, is thought to be the first of its kind, and presents a range of Waugh’s early illustrations, which combine Victorian and ‘jazz age’ visual styles. Some material is for sale while some pieces appear on loan from Leeds University’s Brotherton Library, the Waugh family and various private collections.
Among the highlights is a 1950 handmade Christmas card reproducing Gaetano Zumba’s 17th century wax diorama of a plague scene and likening it to family life. It is available for £4500. Also included are a manuscript of the author’s second novel along with a design for the dust jacket and title page illustration, and a selection of drawings for Waugh’s undergraduate magazines Oxford Broom and Cherwell. From the latter is a 1923 series ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ which includes ‘The intolerable wickedness of he who drinks alone.’
The gallery’s Ed Maggs says: “This has always been a somewhat underrated part of his life and we hope to show that his black humour and vicious irony found as equal an opportunity in his artwork as in his writing.”
