Laurence Scarfe 1914-1993

Publicity photograph for the 1958 Great Bardfield Open House Art Summer Exhibition. From left: Edward Bawden, Walter Hoyle, George Chapman, Laurence Scarfe, Stanley Clifford-Smith, Michael Rothenstein and Sheila Robinson with daughter Chloe.

Scarfe was born in Idle, Yorkshire, and studied art at the Shipley School of Art before moving to London to study painting at the Royal College of Art (1933-37).  After graduating, Scarfe taught at Bromley School of Art, 1937-39, and later at the Central School of Arts & Crafts, 1945-70. His final teaching post until his retirement in the early 1980s was at Brighton Polytechnic.

 Student Life, Morning (Gunter Grove, Chelsea), 1941, Student Life, The Artist-Orientalist Having Tea, Chelsea, 1941, Paulton’s Square, Chelsea 1947.

He carried out mural work for the British Pavilion at the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris, the Books & Printing section at Britain Can Make It (1946) and the British Industries Fair (1948). Of major importance were his murals for the Dome of Discovery and the Regatta Restaurant at the Festival of Britain’s South Bank site (1951). Other murals included those for the P&O liners Orcades and Oriana in the ’50s. 

Prom Point Des Arènes, Arles 1948, The Harbour at La Ciotat’ 1948, The Bower of Sultan Ibrahim, The Seraglio, Istanbul’.

He authored and illustrated several books, and his poster and advertising designs were widely recognised, with commissions from the BBC, the Arts Council, and London Transport .

‘Rome, Fragments in the Sun,’ by Laurence Scarfe, Hutchinson 1950.

Though he found success as a commercial artist, Scarfe enjoyed teaching and lectured part-time for many years, including at the Bromley School of Art (1937-39), Central School of Art (1945-70) and Brighton Polytechnic, where he taught the History of Illustration and Graphic Design before retiring from teaching in 1980.

An example of Scarfe’s book illustration was reproduced on the front and rear covers of ‘Motif’ , the graphic design journal, issue 4, 1960.

As a graphic designer, he was the art editor and contributor to ‘The Saturday Book’ and illustrated for the Radio Times. He also designed the Royal Coat of Arms for the Central Office of Information (COI). His poster and advertising designs were widely recognised including posters and advertising material for London Transport, the GPO, Arts Council, and BBC. He also illustrated a wide range of books, including Alec Waugh’s These I Would Choose: A Personal Anthology with Drawings (1948), A Record of Shell’s Contribution to Aviation in the Second World War (1949), and The International Wine and Food Society’s Guide to the Wines of Burgundy (1968). 

The Listener XMAS 1964 Cover By Laurence Scarfe The Bethnal Green Museum 1964

Scarfe travelled extensively throughout Europe from 1947 to ’69, most enjoying Italy, Sicily and Malta, and European thinking heavily influenced his ideas on painting theory. He was a member of the Society of Mural Painters and a Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artist and Designers. Most of the artist’s papers from the focal years of his career, 1935 to ’83, are held in the V&A Archive of Art & Design.

Two paintings of the Grand Canal, Venice.

In 1958 the newly formed Great Bardfield Artists’ Association decided to repeat the open house format which had been so successful in 1954 and 1955. Clifford-Smith was appointed secretary, and the souvenir booklet was revised for the occasion.  Guest artists Peter Whyte and Laurence Scarfe joined the resident artists for the show. In early July a young TV presenter Alan Whicker interviewed Joan Glass and Edward Bawden for a BBC programme on the Great Bardfield art community. Thousands of visitors flocked to the village and the exhibition received national coverage. The surge of visitors resulted in traffic management problems for the local police. It was estimated that a staggering 19,000 visitors had viewed the art works and the artists sold a collective £5,000 worth of work.

The Bird Boy, lithograph, 1951.

In the 1960s Scarfe created a collection of wallpapers. A number of his wallpapers was exhibited to the public at the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture, Middlesex University in London. 

Scarfe’s work represents a range of personal influences, through periods of design and theoretically focused work before the Second World War, through the optimism and growth of the Festival of Britain period and the abstract movements of the seventies.

Abstract. Apparition Venice 1966 Tate. Left Middle: Battersea Night, 1966, Tate.

Bottom Left: Original lithographic print, Summer Morning, from a series printed by the Curwen Studio, 1966. Right: Quatrefoil Garden 1966 Tate.

Laurence Scarfe’s work found wide renown in his life and has been exhibited at the Leicester Galleries, Redfern Gallery, Zwemmer Galleries, New Burlington Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Academy, Society of Watercolour Painters, Orleans House Chiswick, as well as various galleries in the USA. He is represented in public collections throughout the UK, including the Imperial War Museum, (DCMS) Government Art Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Institute of British Architects, Ministry of Works, University of Warwick Collection, Graves Art Gallery, Bradford Art Gallery, Brighton Museum, and the Tate.

Scarfe died in 1993 aged 79.

Salt Pie Farm, Bradford.

Unfortunately information re the life and work of Laurence Scarfe is few and far between. Wikipedia gave me a start and the rest is cobbled together from a variety of brief sources.

The Great Bardfield Open House blog is here :- https://httpartistichorizons.org/2021/09/03/great-bardfield-open-house-art-exhibitions/

Graham Bennison, March 2025. https://www.facebook.com/BennisonArtist