Charles Pears - seaside and marine poster artist and illustrator
Charles Pears was a British painter, illustrator and artist, born in Pontefract, Yorkshire in 1873, whose work was widely used to promote British destinations and events, including the art competitions at the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics. He is currently the subject of an exhibition at Pontefract Museum.
Pears studied at East Hardwick and Pomfret College near his hometown, where he started a lifelong appreciation of Canaletto. His early illustrated works were included in periodicals such as The Yellow Book, Punch, The Graphic and a poetry book, Salt-Water Poems and Ballads by John Masefield.
A commissioned officer in the Royal Marines during the First World War, Pears became well-known as a marine painter, and was the first elected President of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. His works were exhibited from 1904 to 1939 in London having moved there, and he also wrote a number of books on small boat cruising.
He was commissioned as an official War Artist during both the First and Second World Wars, and his Second World War poster entitled "MV San Demetrio gets home" was issued by the Post Office Savings Bank, as part of their wartime campaign. The original artwork presently part of the collection of the National Maritime Museum.
From 1913 to 1936, Pears was a prolific poster artist, working particularly for London Underground. He also created posters for the Empire Marketing Board, the Metropolitan Railway, Southern Railway, London, Midland & Scottish Railway, London & North Eastern Railway and Great Western Railway. He continued his activity for the railways following the creation of British Railways in 1947.
Pears moved to Saint Mawes, Cornwall in semi-retirement, and died in Truro in January 1958.
Today his artworks are held in the collections of the London Transport Museum, National Maritime Museum, National Railway Museum, Imperial War Museum, and Tate.
A special exhibition, Bracing Air, Abundant Amusements: The travel posters of Charles Pears, is being held at Pontefract Museum from Sat 22 May 2021 - Sat 4 Jun 2022. It includes seaside posters, art deco design, rail trips and other travel and transport industry work he created, focusing on his career as a commercial artist, with items lent from the national collections.
Further reading
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