Helen Binyon

Helen Binyon (1904-1979) was a notable wood engraver and watercolour painter. She studied at the Royal College of Art (1922-1926), where she first met Eric Ravilious. They formed part of a large group of friends and colleagues among whom can be counted some of the leading artists and designers of their generation: Edward Bawden, Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, and many others. Paul Nash, who taught both Helen and Eric Ravilious at that time, called them "an outbreak of talent." Helen Binyon...See more

Helen Binyon (1904-1979) was a notable wood engraver and watercolour painter. She studied at the Royal College of Art (1922-1926), where she first met Eric Ravilious. They formed part of a large group of friends and colleagues among whom can be counted some of the leading artists and designers of their generation: Edward Bawden, Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, and many others. Paul Nash, who taught both Helen and Eric Ravilious at that time, called them "an outbreak of talent." Helen Binyon maintained a close friendship with Eric Ravilious for the rest of his life. With her sister Margaret she developed the Binyon Books for children, which she illustrated and Margaret wrote. Early in her career she developed a passionate interest in puppeteering, and ran a travelling puppet show until the outbreak of the Second World War. From 1950-1965 she lectured and taught at the Bath Academy of Art. In her later years she lived with her sister in Chichester, where she wrote this memoir. See less