BAWDEN Edward 1903–1989 Emma Nelson by the Fire
Puss
Puss loves man’s winter fire
Now that the sun so soon
Leaves the hours cold it warmed
In burning June.
She purrs full length before
The heaped-up hissing blaze,
Drowsy in slumber down
Her head she lays.
While he with whom she dwells
Sits snug in his inglenook,
Stretches his legs to the flame
And reads his book.
Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) English poet, short story writer and novelist
Edward Bawden CBE, RA (1903 – 1989) was a British painter, illustrator and graphic artist. He studied at the Cambridge School of Art and then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art School of Design, taking a diploma in illustration, where he was taught by Paul Nash who recognised his talent and met his future collaborator Eric Ravilious. He served as an official British war artist during the Second World War. There is a tile picture of a ferry punt on the River Lea by Edward Bawden on the platform of Tottenham Hale Station on the London Underground Victoria line, which is just two stops from the nearest station to my home.
