Gaynor Chapman Mid century Artist
There are so many fantastic artists from the 1950’s and 60’s who have very little presence online. I feel this is a great shame and that their work should be seen and appreciated by new admirers, it’s always an aim of mine to help promote and reveal these illustrators who’s work I discover and admire. One of those is Gaynor Chapman. She was born in 1935, she attended the Epsom School of Art and was one of the ‘bright young things’ at the RCA in the early 1950’s, where she studied illustration and graphics.
The combination of these two disciplines is very evident in her work, which has a deliberate, compartmentalised graphic structure, emphasised by the use of a visible, irregular black outline. Alongside posters, she also created many book covers and illustrations for other people’s stories.
Some of her most stunning pieces were commissioned by London Transport for its poster series.
She also produced projects for BP, COI, Shell, ICI and Air France, and she created a large mural for the ship SS Dover.
Photo thanks to Airnostalgie
Most of her work appeared in the 1960s/1970s, when she taught graphics at the Brighton College of Art and continued to paint.
She died in 2000, aged 65.
If anyone knows anymore information about Gaynor Chapman or has images you would like to share, please get in touch and I would be glad to do just that. Thank you. Thanks to Mike Dempsey and his wonderful ‘Graphic Journey blog’ for the information used in this post.
fishinkblog.com 
Beautiful, some of them have quite a stained glass quality to them
Yes you’re right Jane, I thought of you when I was putting this together. When are we off to the Whitworth ? Cx
Hello, I have an original Gaynor Chapman oil on canvas Paris street scene that I would like to share, how can I do this?
Hi Susan, thanks for getting in touch. If you can take a couple of good quality images of the painting and send the files to craig @ fishink.co.uk (without the spaces) then I’ll be able to share them with the post. Much obliged and looking forward to seeing it too. Craig
Gaynor Chapman also illustrated The Dawn of Civilisation edited by Stuart Piggot from Thames and Hudson, 1961. Fantastic understated images especially of prehistoric people’s.