Print Europe: Article about the Julian Trevelyan Award

The Julian Trevelyan Award at the Contemporary Printmaking Show An article by Irene Scheinmann Each year an award is made to an outstanding printmaker at the Contemporary Printmaking Show, Mall Galleries, London. This year, at the Originals 05 show, Mary Fedden and I decided to present the Julian Trevelyan Award to three print makers: in first place Emily Wright and in joint second place Jennifer Gill and Danielle Greenaune. Back in 1988, soon after Julian Trevelyan's death in 1988, I decided to try to establish a printmaking award in his memory. I was intent on finding a sponsor to fund it and approached Mary Fedden (Julian's wife) for her consent which she not only gave, but also offered to fund the award. At that time Mary and I thought that a student's prize would be most appropriate, as Trevelyan was a great teacher as well as a very distinguished artist. We began with a yearly visit to the degree shows of various art colleges and although we found the standard very high, our method of selecting In this manner had its obvious limitations. In order to reach more printmakers we changed our policy in 1995 by offering the award to an outstanding printmaker at the National Print Exhibition.
Julian Trevelyan (1910 - 1988) made a significant contribution to the development of contemporary printmaking in Great Britain both as an artist and a teacher. After meeting Hayter in the early thirties, Julian spent some time working at Hayter's Atelier 17 in Paris learning engraving and etching in addition to experimenting with the new techniques developed there. (Julian Trevelyan 'The Cow' 1933) In the early 1950s Trevelyan returned to Atelier 17 in order to update his printmaking techniques and started multiplate colour printing. From 1950 - 1955 he taught etching at the Chelsea School of Art and from 1955 - 1963 at the Royal College of Art. His inspirational teaching left its mark on a whole new generation of printmakers.

I first got to know Julian Trevelyan through his book on etching 'Etching, A Studio Handbook' published 1963. It is the easiest book on etching to follow; it inspired me to experiment and to find a new way of expression - changing my whole approach to printmaking. (Julian Trevelyan 'The Fall' 1982)

I met Trevelyan in person in 1977 and the following year he kindly allowed me to work in his etching studio once a week. Although he did not actually teach me, we often exchanged ideas and discussed technical problems. (Julian Trevelyan 'Pennsylvania' 1982)

Trevelyan had a unique way of seeing the world, which manifested itself in his inventive, enchanting and often witty prints. He had a profound influence on the development of my own work. The knowledge gained from his book proved to be invaluable and I always advise printmaking students to consult it. Unfortunately it is out of print, but copies can still be found in libraries and art colleges. (Julian Trevelyan 'Tom among the flowers' 1978)

I feel privileged to have known him and to have worked at his studio for 10 years. He was always modest, encouraging and generous and that is why it was so important for me to set up this award. Irene Scheinmann October 1999 (Irene Scheinmann 'Rock Variation III')

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The Julian Trevelyan Award

at the Contemporary Printmaking Show

An article by Irene Scheinmann