Contributions are invited from anyone having information of interest and value in respect of the works and lives of the Bewicks (Thomas, John and Robert) and their apprentices, competitors and followers in the art of wood–engraving.

 

The editor would prefer to receive these in electronic format (Microsoft Word) with good quality images (medium resolution jpegs – between 1000–2000 pixels), but simple hard copy might be accepted if the contributor does not have access to a computer.

 

We are particularly anxious to receive contributions from abroad – Europe, America, Australia and the Far East have members of the Bewick Society, and unexpected sources would always attract our especial interest.

 

The editor’s e–mail address is dws.gray@blueyonder.co.uk

 

 

 

"Ill Met by Moonlight"

A recently discovered watercolour painting by John Bewick

 

The new edition of the Cherryburn Times (Volume 5, number 8) presents an account of the discovery and identification of a previously unknown watercolour by John Bewick.

 

"The painting depicts a moonlit scene on the edge of a dense wood. In the foreground are three villainous-looking men in the act of preparing an attack on a coach approaching in the left middle distance. In the far background near the top of a hill is a gibbet with a just-discernable body hanging from it. In the close foreground, bottom left, is part of a bush in which the lower half of a body, mainly the thighs and bent knees, of a man are seen, half concealed, presumably dead. The coach on the left is a two-horse brougham with a postillion on the right-hand horse, with arm raised, whipping the horse up to speed."

 

Playfully named "Il-met by Moonlight" by the editor of the Cherryburn Times, the watercolour measures 158mm x190mm and is owned by a private collector.