Harry Eccleston

Harry Norman Eccleston, OBE (21 January 1923—30 April 2010) was an artist from Coseley, West Midlands, England.[1] He was the first full-time artist and designer of banknotes at the Bank of England.[2]

H N Eccleston

OBE
Born(1923-01-21)21 January 1923
Coseley, West Midlands, England
Died30 April 2010(2010-04-30) (aged 87)
Upminster, Essex, England
EducationBilston School of Art
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Artist
  • Illustrator
OrganizationBank of England
Known forDesigning banknotes

Artist

He trained at Bilston School of Art, and in 1939, Birmingham College of Art, then later, after Royal Navy service in World War II,[2] at the Royal College of Art.[1] Although he lived in London, Eccleston interest in his native Black Country continued throughout his life as produced paintings and etchings of the industrial landscape.[3] Eccleston made a number of drawings and studies of the people of the Black Country and the steelworks that he had been exposed to in his childhood. As a perfectionist his drawing are precise and mathematical, making him "one of the finest engravers of his day." [4]

Banknote design

He joined the Bank of England in 1958 as their first in-house artist-designer, and was the designer of the "D" series of British banknotes — the first pictorial notes. They all featured Queen Elizabeth II, as well as Isaac Newton (£1), the Duke of Wellington (£5), Florence Nightingale (£10), William Shakespeare (£20) and Christopher Wren (£50). The notes were issued in 1970 and in use until 1981.[2] He retired from the Bank of England in 1983.[5]

Recognition

He was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1979.[2][5] In 2003 he was given an honorary doctorate of arts, by the University of Wolverhampton, for his services to banknote design and printmaking.[2] He was elected as a member of the Royal West of England Academy and as an Honorary Member of the RBSA.

Art works

Examples of Harry Eccleston's work are held in a number of public collections, including the Black Country Living Museum[6] and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.[7]

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References
  1. The Independent
  2. The Guardian - obituary
  3. The Free Library
  4. Brendan Flynn, A Place For Art (Liverpool: Callprint, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, 2014)
  5. Bank of England Archived 2011-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  6. 2 paintings by or after Harry Eccleston, Art UK. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  7. Grimley, Terry (September 2005). "An artist of great note". Birmingham Post. Trinity Mirror Midlands. Retrieved 3 April 2013.


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