Movement and Energy
Mayfair exhibition shines light on overlooked printer Sybil Andrews
Review by Rupert Watkins
A lynchpin of the Grosvenor School of artists and printmakers, Sybil Andrews (1898 – 1992), created bold vigorous linocut prints throughout the inter-war period. Having a long career, she produced 87 linocuts over a 62 year period as well as many carvings and etchings.
Born in Suffolk, Andrews trained in London coming under the influence of Claude Flight. Flight had come across the use of lino – a mixture of cork, linseed oil and resin – in Vienna prior to the First World War. Embracing this exceedingly vivid printing form, Andrews produced a wide range of prints, all bursting with energy. Despite moving to London and then finally emigrating to Canada, her attachment to the English countryside remained strong and many of her prints celebrate pastoral and market scenes for example Michaelmas (1935), Market Day (1936) and Ploughing Pasture (1955).
Walking round the exhibition, Andrews work has a sense of immediacy and energy flowing through it. Slightly harsh and yet flowing works, many of her prints were used for advertising purposes in the 1920s and 1930s. Works on sporting subjects such as In Full Cry (1931) and Bringing in the Boat (1933) emphasise a feeling of movement and athleticism.
The selling exhibition also contains prints by Andrew’s contempory Cyril Power. As a snapshot of the creative energy in 1920s inter-war London, this engaging exhibition is certainly worth a glance. It ends this Saturday, October 10th. 
Enquiries: Samuel Osbourne Gallery, 23A Bruton Street, London W1J 6QG / http://www.osbornesamuel.com/