Edgar Ainsworth (artist)
| Edgar Ainsworth | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1905 |
| Died | 1975 (aged 69–70) Cheltenham, Gloucestershire |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Royal College of Art |
| Known for | Painting, magazine illustrator |
Edgar Ainsworth (1905-1975) was a British artist, poster designer and magazine illustrator, who is known for the drawings he made at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in the months following the camps' liberation by the British Army in 1945.
Ainsworth studied at the Royal College of Art in the late 1920s and exhibited at the Royal Academy and the New English Art Club.In 1929 Ainsworth painted friezes at the Imperial Institute building in London. Ainsworth designed posters for the General Post Office, Shell and the Empire Marketing Board but was increasing drawn to journalism. He produced illustrated articles for the magazines Leader and Liliput before joining Picture Post. In due course, Ainswoth was appointed to the post of Art Editor for Picture Post.
During World War Two, Ainsworth continued to work for Picture Post and also served as a war correspondent and accompanied the American 7th Army on their advance across Europe in 1945. Ainsworth visited the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp three times after the British army entered the complex in April 1945. He made numerous sketches and drawings, often in great detail, while at the camp. In September 1945, Picture Post published several of these drawings along with an article, Victim and Prisoner, by Ainsworth. In the article, Ainsworth attempted to challenge what he saw as the elements of indifference he had encountered in Britain to the Belsen trial, which had started that month. Several of the drawings made by Ainsworth in Belsen were purchased by the War Artists' Advisory Committee and are now held by the Imperial War Museum. Ainsworth also commissioned the author and artist Mervyn Peake to visit Belsen for Picture Post.
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