Herry Perry

(Anna Erica Thackeray) or Heather 'Herry' Perry was a successful and distinguished graphic artist during the 1920s and 1930s. She studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts during the mid to late 1920s and was a contemporary student of Joyce Clissold (who studied at the Central between 1924 and 1927). Other fellow students include several other wood engravers represented in this collection including, among others, John Biggs, K McDonald, Barbara Morgan, Hilda Quick and Frederica Graham.

Though she seems to have stopped working towards the end of the 1930s, she had a full and successful career, forging a fine reputation as a graphic artist, illustrating books and designing posters, pub signs and playing cards, whilst she also contributed to Punch magazine. She is perhaps best known for her book illustrations (including several children's books) and for her poster designs for London Transport - she produced over fifty between 1927 and 1938. She produced illustrations for Robert Graves' life of Lawrence of Arabia - 'Lawrence and the Arabs', published in 1927 - and 'Entertaining with Elizabeth Craig' (1932). She was an exceptional wood engraver and exhibited at both the Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) and the Redfern Gallery in London.

She was an accomplished painter and her commissions included a semi-circular mural for the Demonstration Room at Rothamsted Experimental Station - the oldest agricultural research station in the world. Commissioned by Rothamsted director Sir John Russell for the princely fee of £50, the painting was completed on Derby Day in 1932 and featured scenes representing both mediaeval agricultural practices and contemporary research activities.

The Museum and Contemporary Collection includes several examples of work by Herry Perry including [P.160] her witty cross-section of the Central School building at Southampton Row - a wood engraving executed in the late 20s; 'Safety First, High Street, Ellesmere' [P.489] - a wood engraving from the late 20s; a number of evocative wood engraved portraits [P.504.1, P.504.2, and P.520) indicating Perry's tendency toward expressionist mark making during the late 20s; a Christmas card design incorporating wood engraved text [P.1002]; and wood engraved patterns/endpapers [T.60].

These objects are available to view for research purposes. ; Steven Bateman
Author: Steven Bateman