Charles Edward Burton Bernard, Storm Brewing, Watercolour

Charles Edward Burton Bernard (1890 - 1977) 'Storm Brewing', Watercolour and bodycolour, signed and dated bottom left.

Exhibited in The British Art of Illustration, 1800 - 2002, No.34.

With Chris Beetles Gallery label verso.

55.5cm x 49.5cm including frame (31.5 x 21.5cm image size)

Charles Edward Burton Bernard was a British painter, illustrator and cartoonist.

Born in Yokohama, Japan in January 1890, and a student at Trinity College, Dublin. During the first world war, he served as a 2^nd Lieutenant with the 10^th Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment, listed as missing in July 1916, being captured by the Germans and subsequently held in Holzminden POW camp. He was a prisoner of war in Germany with Hugh Willoughby and they formed the “Wilbern Studio,” which produced the scenery for many of the plays that the prisoners put on within the camps.

In 1927, he emigrated with his wife to the USA, living in Massachusetts. There he seems to have worked as a book illustrator and later a newspaper cartoonist. Examples of his illustration work cover fairy story subjects and fantasy, in a highly detailed, enchanting style - these include such classics as the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. His watercolour landscapes show a vibrant, almost graphic style.