Why I love….The Art of Reginald Mount and Eileen Evans (Mount/ Evans Studio)
I am delighted to be offering for sale several artworks created by Eileen Evans and Reginald Mount.
I love illustration art – designs produced for advertising and public information campaigns can define an era and its style. Commercial artists work appears in shared public spaces – marketed at the public and viewed by a broad audience through mass-production. The purpose of the work is to quickly draw the viewers’ attention, with eye catching graphics and slogans.
Until relatively recently, the importance of this type of art has often been overlooked – many of the most notable artists are not widely known by name – although you will certainly recognise their designs.
Reginald Mount and Eileen Evans are arguably two of the most important British illustration artists of the mid-20th century.
Reginald Mount OBE (born Edward Reginald Mount, 1906 – 1979) was a British artist and graphic designer know particularly for his poster designs. During the Second World War he was recruited to the Ministry for Information. Whilst employed there he produced designs for notable propaganda and public safety posters. Some of his most well-known works included the Diphtheria immunisation campaign, Anti V-D., and Liberation for France. It was at the Ministry of Information that Mount first began working with Eileen Evans, who would become his long-term collaborator.
Eileen Margaret Evans (1921-2006) was a British artist and graphic designer. Evans studied and the Reimann School of Art and worked briefly as a nurse with the British Red Cross. She began her artistic career at the Ministry of Information designing public information and propaganda posters during the Second World War. Her first role at the Ministry of Information was assistant to Reginald Mount. Evans designed propaganda posters which included the ‘Lend A Hand’ series for the Ministry of Agriculture.
Having worked together for several years Mount and Evans formed their freelance business the Mount/ Evans Studio during the 1950s. The studios output included posters, album cover art, book covers and promotional material of all types. The Keep Britain Tidy illustrations from this period are perhaps some of their most recognisable. They additionally produced work for the Department of Health and the British Army. Their award-winning work included Anti-Smoking posters and campaign for Road Safety. Evans was often responsible for the typography and layouts. The pair continued to work together throughout the 1950s and 1960s and produced work both independently and collaboratively.
Reginald Mount designed several iconic posters for Ealing Studios – including the instantly recognisable artwork for The Ladykillers and super stylish Train of Events.
Reginald Mount and Eileen Evans pieces rarely appear on the open market – the original artwork produced by Mount for the iconic movie poster for The Ladykillers sold at auction in 2019 for a hammer price of £12,000. Several pieces from their achieve are included in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Imperial War Museum.
The collection available here for sale includes pieces designed by both Mount and Evans for amongst others; British Railways, Shell Oil and Punch Magazine – highlighting the diversity of the projects they were working on.
These rare survivors. All of the artworks available completed original designs. They range in price from £100 to £700. Additionally for sale is a volume by the great artist and illustrator Ronald Searle dedicated to Eileen Evans.
For more information on the individual pieces please see our online store.