Edward Bawden CBE, RA
Edward Bawden was a prolific painter and graphic artist who studied under Paul Nash at the Royal College of Art. He was a skilful printmaker and perhaps
most famous for his prints, book covers and posters. He was awarded a CBE in 1946, became Royal Designer for Industry in 1949, Trustee of the Tate Gallery 1951-58 and was elected as a Royal Academician in 1956. His commercial work included illustrations and poster designs for London Transport, Twinings, Fortnum & Mason and also Barrows Stores in Birmingham.
The History of the Map
The map was originally commissioned in 1931 by local hotelier Tom Laughton for The Pavilion Hotel in Scarborough. Tom Laughton went on to present the map to Scarborough Public Library in 1961 when the hotel was sold. The map is a fabulous, original, hand-painted and collaged work by the Royal Academician, Edward Bawden and is based on an earlier ordnance survey map of Scarborough. Once displayed prominently in the entrance to the children’s section of the Library, many of today’s parents and grandparents have fond childhood memories of its detail and intricacy, but sadly, when the entrance to the children’s library fell into disuse, the map became a hidden treasure, nestling on a wall behind stacks of boxes. The map is now deteriorating badly, and needs restoration and professional reframing to ensure its survival. The Friends of Scarborough Library have launched an appeal for funding to restore the map, and to ensure that it’s future safety and care is secured. We are trying to raise sufficient funds to restore the map, reframe it and relocate it on the first floor crush suite. The total cost will be in the region of £1,800.
The importance of keeping the map on public display in Scarborough
Tom Laughton, who also owned and ran the Royal Hotel in Scarborough, sold the Pavilion Hotel in 1961 after the death of his mother and the ill-health of one of his brothers, Frank. He gifted the Bawden map to the Library at this time. He had a keen interest in art and amassed a collection of paintings over more than 50 years. His art collection, which he later donated to the town, is still on view, and enriches a visit to Scarborough Art Gallery and Museum. This part of Tom Laughton’s legacy is safe and well looked after. When Tom Laughton sold The Pavilion Hotel it had been in his family ownership for more than 50 years, and by selling it he hoped that it would continue to be run in the Laughton tradition. In his autobiography Laughton remembers that in early 1960 he refused a bid of £30,000 – more than he actually sold it for – because the bidders were intending to knock down the hotel to redevelop the site. Eventually he sold the property to a company who gave an undertaking that the Pavilion would be run as a hotel for at least 10 years and that all the staff would be retained. With hindsight, his desires when he made his deal with John Guthries’ Broadland Properies were highly optimistic. The hotel was closed in 1971 and demolished in 1973. On a recent television programme where people were invited to name and shame Britain's worst buildings, nominees described Pavilion House, which took the place of The Pavilion Hotel, as "resembling a concrete fortress" and "a symbol of Scarborough's decline". Another said the demolition of the old Pavilion Hotel "destroyed the Victorian vista of central Scarborough".
In 2008 a bottle of wine with a soiled, scuffed and slightly torn label, which had been stored in the cellars of the Laughton family hotel, the Pavilion in Scarborough, until its demolition in 1973 turned up at auction. The bottle, being sold with its accompanying Pavilion Hotel label, was estimated at £15,000 – more than £2,500 a glass! Less than the price of one glass of wine will ensure that a priceless treasure by an internationally renowned artist is not allowed to fall into oblivion along with the hotel it was originally commissioned for.
On behalf of the Friends of Scarborough Library, I hope that you may look favourably on this request for a donation to help restore and reframe The Scarborough Map. If you require additional or more detailed information regarding the conservation and framing costs or about our planned series of events centred around the map, please contact Colin Langford at The Friends of Scarborough Library. An article about the map will be published in the Winter edition of our Newsletter - Reflections Magazine – together with an update on our fund-raising efforts. Any cheques should be made payable to “Friends of Scarborough Library” and can be handed in or posted to either:
Attn: Colin Langford Attn: Friends of Scarborough Library
Friends of Scarborough Library c/o The Studio Gallery
Vernon Road 5 Belle Vue Parade
Scarborough Scarborough
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