Edwin La Dell

Ewin La Dell, Self Portrait.

Edwin La Dell was born 7th January 1914 in Rotherham, Yorkshire.  La Dell was the son of Thomas La Dell, a Sheffield-born bookbinder, and Ellen (née Boardman)  He was christened Thomas (after his father and grandfather) Edwin (following a family tradition on his mother’s side) but appears always to have been known as Edwin.

One of La Dell’s earliest lithographs is ‘The Rush,’ 1937,a typical London street scene from the 1930’s.

After attending Sheffield School of Art in 1935 he won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art where his tutors included John Nash, Percy Horton, Charles Mahoney, Gilbert Spencer, Barnett Freedman and Robert Austin.  On finishing, he was, in 1938, included in the 28th annual exhibition at Zwemmers of the Senefelder Club of which Frank Brangwyn was President and Matisse and Sir Muirhead Bone were Honorary members.   He sold well; his career began successfully, and it wasn’t long before he began teaching – at Camberwell School of Art. 

La Dell had begun to establish himself as a lithographer before the war. In 1939 he joined the Civil Defence Camouflage Establishment in Leamington Spa and worked as a camouflage designer. He became involved with the Artists International Association and also submitted work to the War Artists Advisory Committee.

The Camouflage Workshop Leamington Spa. Testing netting at a Camouflage Station Leamington Spa.

In 1943 he was sent on active service, stopping first in Belgium (billeted with Mme Berger, the sister-in-law of Magritte) and then moving to the German Front.

Calcar, smoke screen over the Rhine 1945. Ruined Landscape, Reichwald Forest 1945. VE Street Party 1945.

From 1946 to 1949, he produced paintings, lithographs and murals for the Central Office of Information.  One of the artists La Dell worked with during the war was  Charles Mozley whose wife’s sister, Joan Kohn, married La Dell in 1940. In 1948, his work was included in a survey of 150 years of lithography that began with its invention in 1798.  Exhibited alongside Piper, Aldridge, Scott and Bawden, it cemented his reputation. 

Colour lithograph by Edwin La Dell depicting a steam boat on the River Thames with the Tower of London in the background, 1946.

Through-the-Window wife Joan at their home at Grafty Green in Kent, 1948.

After the War, he continued making art and was employed as a teacher, initially working as a tutor at the RCA in 1948 before becoming Head of the Printmaking. In this role, his impact on post-war printmaking and future generations of printmakers was enormously influential.  He was instrumental in raising the appeal of printmaking and was involved in many of the commissions such as the Lyons Lithographs and the School Prints together with his own series of Oxford, Cambridge, Kent and New York. His vibrantly coloured lithographs drew inspiration from French artists such as Vuillard, Denis and Bonnard.

The Oxford and Cambridge series of lithographs.

La Dell’s  best known works are those from the post-war era, in particular the lithographs he created for the coronation of  Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.  For the Coronation a group of artists were invited to create lithographs for the Royal College of Art. Following the success of the Schools Prints series and Contemporary Lithographs, these prints were sold in limited editions and helped boost the RCA’s skills at reviving lithographic techniques. They were exhibited at the Redfern Gallery from April – May, 1953.

Bandsmen in the City. Rehearsal for the Coronation. Royal Homecoming. The Crowd In the Mall, Coronation 1953. Horse Guards Parade.

Another contribution was ‘Newmarket,’ one of six lithographs by various artists commissioned for Guinness in 1956. Originally the title was ‘Newmarket Races’ but it was shortened to just ‘Newmarket.’ La Dell chose a subject relevant to the pub audience. In the Guinness Book of Records Newmarket is listed as the world’s largest racecourse.

He wrote and illustrated Your Book of Landscape Drawing and illustrated Wilkie Collins’ novel The Moonstone.

He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts on 24th April 1969.  His work was exhibited throughout the world under the auspices of the British Council.

La Dell continued as head of the Department of Lithography at the RCA  until his death on 27th June 1970, aged 56.

Edwin La Dell by Robert Darwin RCA 1910 – 1974. Self Portrait

La Dell’s work is currently held in many collections, including those of the Royal Academy,  Government Art Collection, the Tate and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

There is no definitive text re Edwin la Dell therefore this blog is cobbled together from many small sources, Wikipedia did give me a start though. HOWEVER 4th Nov. 2025. Today I received ‘Edwin La Dell,’ Lithographs and Etchings, edited by Tom and Maria La Dell, cheap at £10.to buy at Emma Mason Gallery, https://www.emmamason.co.uk/p/edwin-la-dell—lithographs-and-etchings

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