The art of New Naturalists

4th March 2010

The New Naturalist jackets are icons of natural history book publishing. Published by Collins, they have graced our book shelves for the past sixty years with a steadily expanding number of titles, all with colourful spines and imaginative designs. Arranged together, they have been called tactile and luscious, and their impact has been compared with that of a Ming vase. They form part of the extraordinary appeal of this famous series of natural history books, long enjoyed by both naturalists and book lovers. They are, arguably, the main reason (though not the only reason) why the books are so keenly collected today. Until 1985 nearly every jacket had been designed by the same husband-and-wife artists, Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. After that date every jacket to date has been designed by Robert Gillmor. (Meet Robert Gillmor in the art studio March 23rd – 28th).

This exhibition is a unique selection of original art work and related material from the series. New Naturalist jackets portrayed the contents of the book in bold forms and bright colours, printed by craft methods. The arts-and-craft look was intensified by the exquisite hand-lettering of the early titles.

These jackets are unusual. They showed 'forms of nature' interpreted by knowledgeable artists that gave the books vitality and inner life. They were intended to intrigue. They were not intended to shock, but perhaps, especially at first, they did. They are halfway between being popular and academic, and are at once interested in the minutiae of life and the big picture.

The series was the idea of William Collins, managing director of the famous family publishing business. While the public were used to seeing art jackets, some were surprised to see them on books about butterflies and geology. They strongly implied something new and Collins took great pride in them.

The exhibition runs from March 2nd - 29th at Nature in Art, Twigworth 

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