Derrick Harris

Born and educated in Sussex, Harris first studied architecture at Worthing School of Art before working on the land, for London Civil Defence Service and as a hospital porter during the Second World War. He studied part-time at both St. Martin's School of Art and the Central School, where he was taught by Noel Rooke and John Farleigh. He concentrated on wood engraving from 1950 and worked as a commercial artist for companies such as Whitbread and Colman's Mustard and was a regular contributor to the Radio Times and The Listener. He also did a great deal of book illustration including work for Penguin and the Folio Society. As well as his teachers, Harris claimed to have been influenced by Bewick and Eric Ravilious, and his bold and often humorous work clearly shows the influence of 18th and 19th Century broadsheets and chapbooks