The Ravilious Hill Figure Collection

A set of 6 rather good Eric Ravilious postcards, featuring hill figures from the south-east and south-west of England, all painted in 1939, and intended to illustrate a children’s book he was working on for Puffin. The titles are ‘Chalk Figure Near Weymouth’, ‘Cerne Abbas Giant’, ‘Westbury Horse’, ‘Vale of the White Horse’, ‘Wilmington Giant’, and ‘Train Landscape’.

The book got as far as the mock-up stage by 1942, but sadly never reached completion. Ravilious was recorded as missing in that year (‘death presumed’), after a patrol searching for a missing Lockhead Hudson failed to return.

The book itself can be viewed in the Wiltshire Museum, at which there is a Ravilious exhibition later this year (Downland Man), starting on the 25th of September, and closing on the 30th of January 2022. It’s curated by James Russell, a renowned expert on the art of Ravilious, and author of a number of books about the artist.

The postcards are A6 (4.1 by 5.8 inches, or 105 by 148mm ), and are printed on high quality 300gsm Invercote card stock using high quality inks. The name of the artist, painting, medium and date are printed on the reverse.

Eric Ravilious (22 July 1903 – 2 September 1942) was an exceptional watercolourist, wood engraver and designer. He grew up in the shadow of the Sussex Downs in the coastal town of Eastbourne, the surrounding landscape of which heavily influenced many of his best known works. His instantly recognisable style, palette and choice of subject have an almost universal appeal, a blend which has increased in popularity with the passing of time, particularly in the first two decades of the 21st century.