Society of Wood Engravers

The Society was founded in 1920 with the explicit purpose of promoting the art of wood engraving. Its early membership comprised Philip Hagreen, Robert Gibbings, Lucien Pissarro, Gwen Raverat and Eric Gill. They held an annual exhibition that attracted work from other notable artists such as David Jones, John and Paul Nash, Paul Gauguin and Clare Leighton. Exhibitions were held variously at the St George's Gallery, Redfern Gallery and in 1938 at the Zwemmer Gallery. There was considerable disagreement among members, and in 1925 Leon Underwood, Blair Hughes-Stanton and Gertrude Hermes resigned from the Society and together set up the short-lived English Wood Engraving Society. With the on-set of World War II the group like many other organisations went into a decline due to shortages of both demand for their works and of raw materials. The group never took off in the years following World War II until the 1980's when it achieved an international reputation. It now publishes a regular newsletter which is much respected and its annual exhibition tours the UK bringing the art of wood engraving to a wider audience.