Walter Crane

 

Walter Crane

Through wanting to represent John Barton in an educational setting, I wanted to take inspiration from the political illustrator Walter Crane. Crane worked between 1845 – 1915 and was part of the arts and crafts movement with William Morris. Crane used his talent to illustrate socialist and trade union works for the purpose of pamphlets and banners. H.M. Hyndman noted of Crane that ‘from the first he has in every possible way… put his best services freely at the disposal of socialism without the slightest reward beyond the sincere thanks and high appreciation of his comrades and friends.’ [1] Crane believed in a society based on equality and freedom, free from poverty and exploitation, he presented this belief through symbolism in his work, consisting of winged figures, sunrises, and slogans. Through John Barton being a member of a union and a Chartist the idea to create a piece inspired by Crane seemed appropriate and an important recognition of political artwork in the 19^th century.

Figure 1 and 2, Walter Crane Illustrations, cheltenhammuseum.org.uk, [accessed 27 June 2022] 

[1] WCML, ‘Walter Crane’, WCML, [accessed 27 June 2022]