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Robert Gibbings
Robert Gibbings (1889-1958) was an Irish artist and author who was most noted for his work as a wood engraver and sculptor, and for his books on travel and natural history.
Born o...view moreRobert Gibbings (1889-1958) was an Irish artist and author who was most noted for his work as a wood engraver and sculptor, and for his books on travel and natural history.
Born on March 23, 1889 in Cork County, Ireland, he grew up in the town of Kinsale where his father, the Rev. Edward Gibbings, was the rector of St. Multose Church. His mother, Caroline, was the daughter of Robert Day, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland and president of The Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. Gibbings studied medicine for three years at University College Cork before taking up art studies, first under the painter Harry Scully in Cork and later at the Slade School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design.
As a founding member of the Society of Wood Engravers in 1920, he became a major influence in the revival of wood engraving in the twentieth century. He took over ownership of the Golden Cockerel Press in 1924, where his knowledge of a number of authors and the leading wood engravers of the day enabled him to publish modern texts as well as classic ones, including the four volume Canterbury Tales (1929-1931). He produced a number of books with his own wood engravings at the press, the highpoints being The True History of Lucian (1927) and Lamia by John Keats (1928), and illustrated extensively for other publishers.
In 1934 he completed Beasts and Saints by Helen Waddell and Glory of Life by Llewelyn Powys, marking the beginning of a period as an author illustrator. He was commissioned by Penguin to write a travel book, and was later appointed art director of a new series of Penguin Illustrated Classics. As well as writing his own books, he also continued to produce wood engravings for other commissions.
In 1936 he became a sessional lecturer in typography, book production and illustration at Reading University.
Gibbings died in Oxford on January 19, 1958, aged 68.view less