Marigolds Colour woodcut by John Hall Thorpe

Born in Australia, Hall Thorpe learnt the art of colour woodblock printing while still living in Sydney. He moved to London in 1902 and like many members of the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, he attended Heatherley’s School of Art. His first one man show of woodcut prints in London in 1918 was an immediate success and he soon became a leading member of the Colour Woodcut Society. Designed with the specific intention of providing bright colourful decoration, Hall Thorpe’s hand made prints became something of an international phenomenon during the 1920s and 30s