AN exhibition of some never before seen sketches and pre-publication art is giving a unique insight into the mind of one of Britain’s most loved graphic novelists.
Raymond Briggs is best known for his works The Snowman, Father Christmas and the autobiographical Ethel and Ernest, many of which have been made into popular television shows.
The raw creative process that went into the creation of these iconic works is laid bare in The Bowes Museum’s latest exhibition Raymond Briggs: A Retrospective.
The display features some 108 illustrations, many of which have never been seen in the North East before.
Olivia Ahmad, artistic director for the Quentin Blake House of Illustration which has curated the travelling exhibition, said the museum is an ideal venue for the display.
She added: “The Bowes is such an amazing institution that celebrates craft in lots of different senses, and Raymond really was an illustrator who crafts working pictures – they are almost like miniature paintings and he was really interested in art traditions and painting traditions. I think him being in The Bowes is a lovely tribute to him.”
The artist died in August and Ms Ahmad was lucky enough to meet him several times while helping to put together the collection.
She said: “He has this reputation of being grumpy but he was always really kind and I really liked his wicked sense of humour. He was lovely.”
It was during this time that she uncovered much of the preliminary work he did before producing his finished books. One of those is a “dummy book” of The Snowman which features black and white sketches.
Ms Ahmad said: “It’s really interesting to look at an object like this. Raymond would use something like this to check out the pacing of the story and the spreads before he did the final artwork.
“When you see the process, it is something so human. It brings him to life, you can almost imagine him sat just thinking, sketching and seeing the story grow.”
She added that at the time Mr Briggs did not see the value in people seeing some of the work.
Ms Ahmad said: “It’s working material that isn’t really meant be seen in a museum like this – Raymond did say that when I went to get the work from him. He kind of said you can have a look at this stuff and I am happy to lend it to you, but I don’t know what you want with it. To him the book is the final piece – it is done, and this is just the stages to get there.”
However, much of it gives an insight not only into the work that went into producing the final pieces but also into the mind of the artist himself. Images from Fungus The Bogeyman show how he would create a coloured drawing first then place tracing paper over it to write the typography in by hand. Also of interest are the notes around the edges of some of the rough drawings and paintings. Ms Ahmad said: “There are phone numbers of people he needed to talk to, bits of research he has done and he has made notes, or things he has been asked to change by his publisher. You really get a sense of who he is if you spend a bit of time around the edges as well. It is great stuff.”
The exhibition began this month and will continue until February 26.
Alison White, of The Bowes Museum, said it was a coup to get the exhibition over the Christmas season, a period when many of his famous works are aired on television.
She added that the exhibition is aimed at the whole family with several craft activities and screenings planned for its duration.
Ms White said: “It will be a walk down memory lane for a lot of people – it’s a way for them to relive their childhoods. And for their own children and grandchildren as well, to introduce them to their childhood favourites.”
