Anthony Gross RA

Anthony Gross RA (1905–1984) was a painter, printmaker, illustrator and war artist whose work is particularly associated with closely observed scenes of everyday life. His paintings, drawings and prints range from crowded London streets and rural France to wartime subjects and landscapes, often characterised by lively line, dense detail and a strong sense of movement.

Born in Dulwich, London, Gross studied at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1923, while also attending evening classes at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. He continued his training in Madrid at the Academia de San Fernando and in Paris at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts. In Paris he met the printmaker Stanley William Hayter, and etching soon became central to his practice.

Gross settled in France during the later 1920s and travelled widely through Europe and North Africa, painting and making prints directly from the people and places around him. During the 1930s he also worked in animated film and illustrated books, including Jean Cocteau’s Les Enfants Terribles in 1936.

During the Second World War Gross was appointed an Official War Artist and travelled with British forces through the Middle East, India and Burma. He also accompanied the 50th Division during the D-Day landings in Normandy. His wartime drawings and watercolours recorded both military activity and the everyday life of servicemen, and were exhibited at the National Gallery, Tate and the Jeu de Paume in Paris.

After the war Gross divided his time between Britain and France. He taught at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and, from 1954 to 1971, at the Slade, where he taught printmaking under William Coldstream. In 1965 he became the first President of the Print Makers Council. His technical expertise was also distilled in his book Etching, Engraving and Intaglio Printing, published in 1970.

From the 1950s onwards Gross’s prints became increasingly dense and intricate, with landscape, figures and architecture often woven together into complex compositions. His house at Le Boulvé in south-west France became an important recurring subject, culminating in The Very Rich Hours of Le Boulvé, published in 1980.

Gross was elected a Royal Academician in 1980 and appointed CBE in 1982. His work is held in major public collections including the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate, Ashmolean Museum, Fitzwilliam Museum, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rijksmuseum and the Government Art Collection.