We are very excited that Pontefract Museum has now reopened with a major new exhibition of artwork by Charles Pears (1873-1958), who was born in the town. To celebrate, we've gathered some of our favourite works from UK collections to showcase Pears' distinguished career as a renowned marine and naval specialist and a prolific commercial artist.
Charles Pears was born in 1873. He began to develop his artistic talent whilst growing up in Pontefract. As a young man, he moved to London, where he began his career as a cartoonist and illustrator, before establishing a reputation as an eminent poster artist and oil painter.
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As a keen yachtsman, Pears applied his knowledge of the sea to his marine work. He and his wife owned boats and both wrote about sailing. Titles by Pears included From the Thames to the Seine, and Yachting on the Sunshine Coast, a guidebook for Southern Railway.
Charles Pears (1873–1958)
Oil on canvas
H 102 x W 127 cm
The Collection: Art & Archaeology in Lincolnshire (Usher Gallery)
Pears was painting during a golden age for ocean travel when luxurious liners, kitted out as 'floating palaces', ruled the waves. The Cunard Line's Queen Mary transported passengers across the Atlantic to New York in style. As a commercial artist, Pears also produced poster artwork for shipping companies like Cunard and Orient.
Charles Pears (1873–1958)
Oil on canvas
H 101.6 x W 127 cm
National Maritime Museum
From 1939 - 1957 Charles Pears was the first president of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. After his death in 1958, the society founded the annual Charles Pears memorial prize, awarded for outstanding work by non-members.
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Pears' talent for depicting the sea saw him appointed an Official Naval War Artist in both World Wars. Several of his wartime works were exhibited at the Royal Academy.
Charles Pears (1873–1958)
Oil on canvas
H 79.8 x W 113 cm
National Railway Museum
It was between the wars that Pears enjoyed his most prolific period as a commercial artist, particularly producing artwork for travel posters. In the interwar years, many people enjoyed increased leisure time and disposable income, and began treating themselves to day-trips and holidays, often at the beach. Pears, of course, was the perfect painter to advertise the seaside, as this vibrant image of fashionable bathing belles enjoying the waves at Southend demonstrates.
London Underground’s publicity department added text and logos beneath Pears’ evocative image to complete the striking poster.
Charles Pears (1873–1958)
Lithograph on paper
H 120 x W 100 cm
Southend Museums Service
Until the Second World War, London Underground offered special excursion services to Southend from Ealing Broadway. Londoners eager to escape the city were enticed by Pears’ artwork.
He was commissioned as many as 14 times for Southend poster designs, from local landmarks, to boating scenes and water sport enthusiasts making a splash…
Charles Pears (1873–1958)
Colour lithograph
H 120 x W 100 cm
Southend Museums Service
… to fashionable crowds on bustling beaches and packed piers.
Charles Pears (1873–1958)
Colour lithograph on paper
H 120 x W 100 cm
Southend Museums Service
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In the 1920s, when the newly formed ‘Big Four’ rail companies began to follow London Underground’s lead in working with celebrated artists, Pears was in demand with their advertising departments too. In this design for Great Western Railway, he turns his hand to the bright lights of the city.
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But he returned to the coast with this tranquil marinescape for British Rail.
Charles Pears (1873–1958)
Oil on canvas
H 101.8 x W 63.7 cm
National Railway Museum
As well as the now iconic travel poster, Charles Pears also produced designs for Empire Marketing Board publicity campaigns as part of their mission to promote trade within the Empire.
They commissioned top artists to design ‘Scenes of Production’ that showed Britons how their food was being grown by fellow citizens of the Empire all over the world. The posters were part of a propaganda effort that presented an idealised depiction of the Empire, such as in this idyllic looking Canadian orchard.
Charles Pears (1873–1958) and John Waddington Ltd (active 1905–1940) and Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO)
Lithograph on paper
H 102 x W 152.5 cm
Manchester Art Gallery
‘Scenes of Marketing’ meanwhile celebrated the export of British goods around the world. The following Pears designs are from the Empire’s Highway to India series.
Charles Pears (1873–1958) and Johnson, Riddle and Co. Ltd (active c.1927–1945) and Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO)
Lithograph on paper
H 102 x W 152.5 cm
Manchester Art Gallery
Before hitting the billboards, an example of the artwork from the series was previewed in an Empire Marketing Board exhibition at the Royal Academy in November 1926. The campaign was launched early the following year.
Charles Pears (1873–1958) and Waterlow and Sons Ltd (active 1810–1960s) and Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO)
Lithograph on paper
H 102 x W 152.5 cm
Manchester Art Gallery
Series like this one consisted of five posters to be displayed in prominent public positions in specially designed frames, allowing for three landscapes and two portrait letterpress posters. An example of the frame was also demonstrated at the Royal Academy show.
Charles Pears (1873–1958) and Johnson, Riddle and Co. Ltd (active c.1927–1945) and Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO)
Lithograph on paper
H 102 x W 152.5 cm
Manchester Art Gallery
Having enjoyed a succesful commercial career and been celebrated as a marine specialist, Pears eventually semi-retired to St Mawes in Cornwall. He died in Truro in 1958.
His self-portrait, painted in later life, combines his twin passions. He uses his preferred medium of oil paint to depict himself in his natural habitat as a sailor at sea.
Charles Pears (1873–1958)
Oil on canvas
H 61.5 x W 51 cm
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum