.css-1sgivba{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;gap:0.5rem;margin-bottom:var(--chakra-space-2);} .css-cosgki{font-size:16px;font-weight:var(--chakra-fontWeights-bold);} Product Type: Giclee Print Print Size: 9" x 12" Finished Size: 9" x 12" .css-1336n79{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;gap:0.5rem;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-8);margin-bottom:var(--chakra-space-8);} Product ID: 56090443909A
Explore Laoshu64's 10229 photos on Flickr!
Born in Hornsey, London, on 15 March 1914, Maurice Charles John Wilson was best known as a wildlife artist whose work appeared in dozens of books and on cards given away with Brooke Bond tea. He was educated at the Hastings School of Art (under Philip Cole) and the Royal Academy Schools (under Malcolm Osborne and Robert Austin) and later taught anatomical and plant drawing. As early as 1941, Wilson was described as having "driven a car through various parts of the continent ... he can ride a horse, keeps a bob-tailed collie, favours Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Mogul painting and lives any odd way that suits him at the moment." Wilson's first nature book, a study of monkeys, was published in 1937 and was followed with studies of dogs and a variety of zoo animals, published after the Second World War. His water colour paintings attracted the attention of the British Museum and Natural History Museum, where he helped reconstruct the look of dinosaurs from fossils. His work in this area was much respected and the Natural History Museum website notes: Wilson's style was very versatile, but he is best known for his prehistoric reconstructions. His talent for representing prehistoric life lay in his ability to bring to life creatures never seen by humans by giving a sheen to feathers, or by using a light and dark contrast to hairs of mammals. By painting scenery in a realistic way, he also gave his subjects a definite scale and placed prehistoric animals in an historical context. His anthropological work can be found in Peter Andrews and Chris Stringer's publication Human Evolution: An Illustrated Guide (1989), with his animal reconstructions published in W. E. Swinton's very popular handbooks which included Fossil Amphibian and Reptiles (1954) and Fossil Birds (1958). Wilson also illustrated Wilfrid Le Gros Clark's, A History of the Primates (1949) with a series of fine black and white drawings whilst other illustrations have accompanied displays in the Museum's public galleries. The later Prehistoric Animals by Barry Cox (1976) was produced in association with the Thames Television series and Wilson was also a graphic designer on the TV documentary Life on Earth (1979). One, a picture of a Neanderthal family painted in 1950, featured Giles Oakley and his brother as models for two young Neanderthals having a childish scrap. He later recalled: Maurice was a real character, as I recall from his regular and keenly-awaited visits to our home in Amersham, Bucks, some thirty-odd miles from London. An eccentric, bohemian dresser, he'd bound out of the car and stride up the front path clad in a long coat with string round the waist plus open-toed sandals and a raffish cravat at his neck. His hair was worn fairly long in oiled ringlets like a stereotypical gypsy, making him for years my image of what 'an artist' was like, not unlike some Agatha Christie suspect. He had a beguiling approach with children, never talking down to us but full of little tricks and jokes to keep us entertained, although it was always clear that he was deeply serious about his work as a natural history illustrator. My parents greatly admired his artistic skill which was characterised by a deceptively simple mastery of line and shading, enriched by subtle colour washes and an overall softness of tone. Several of his paintings and prints used to adorn the walls at home in Amersham and they are still much loved in the family. One of those I inherited used to hang above my father's desk in his study, a large sketch Maurice did in April 1950 of 'Australopithecos', looking faintly melancholy and soulful, as though dimly conscious of his evolutionary fate. Whether conjuring up an imagined past in deep antiquity or simply painting feathers and fur from direct observation, there was always a warmth and humanity about Maurice's work, often caught in the poignant expressiveness of a creature's eyes. Wilson lived in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where he died in November 1987. PUBLICATIONS Illustrated Books Just Monkeys. London, Country Life, 1937. Dogs. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books (Puffin Picture Book 56), 1946. Coastal Craft. London, Noel Carrington, 1947. Animals We Know. London, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1959. Animals. London, Studio Vista, 1964. Birds. London, Studio Vista, 1965. Books Illustrated Zoo Animals by E. G. Boulenger. West Drayton, Penguin Books (Puffin Picture Books 73), 1948. History of the Primates: An Introduction to the Study of Fossil Man by Wilfred Le Gros Clark. London, British Museum, 1949. Zoo Birds by David Seth Smith. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books (Puffin Picture Books 68), 1951. Fossil Amphibians and Reptiles by W. E. Swinton. London, British Museum, 1954. A Guide to Earth History by Richard Carrington. London, Chatto & Windus, 1956. Birds and Beasts ed. James Fisher. London, Phoenix House, 1956. Mermaids and Mastadons: A Book of Unnatural History by Richard Carrington. London, Chatto & Windus, 1957. Elephants by Richard Carrington, illus. with others. London, Chatto & Windus, 1958. Fossil Birds by W. E. Swinton. London, British Museum, 1958. Fossils by H. H. Swinnerton. London, Collins, 1960. The Singing Forest by H. Mortimer Batten. London, Heinmann, 1960. Under the Sea by Maurice Burton. London, Vista Books, 1960. Fables from Aesop retold by James Reeves. London & Glasgow, Blackie, 1961. The Heart of the Hunter by Laurens van der Post. London, Hogarth Press, 1961. Donkey Work by Doreen Tovey. London, Elek Books, 1962. A World of Animals by Margery Fisher. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1962. Animals of the Arctic by Gwynne Vevers. London, Bodley Head, 1964. Nature on the Move by Ronald Marchant. London, Bell, 1965. Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1967. A River Ran Out of Eden by James Vance Marshall. London, Heinemann Educational Books, 1967. The Origins of Man by John Russell Napier. London, Bodley Head, 1968. First Interest on the Farm by Peter Shaw. London, Ginn, 7 vols., 1969. A Long Time Ago by Robin Place, London, Ginn, 14 vols., 1969-70. The New Boy by Doreen Tovey. London, Joseph, 1970. Patch by Helen Griffiths. London, Hutchinson, 1970. Man, Civilzation and Conquest by Margaret Sharman. London, Evans Bros, 1971. China Long Ago by Sandie Oram. London, Macdonald & Co., 1972. First Interest in the Wider World by E. J. Barker. London, Ginn, 7 vols., 1972. Double Trouble by Doreen Tovey. London, Joseph, 1972; New York, Norton, 1972. Making the Horse Laugh by Doreen Tovey. London, Joseph, 1974. The Earliest Farmers and the First Cities by Charles Higham, illus. with Peter Duncan. London, Cambridge University Press, 1974. The Quizzer Book About People compiled by George Beal, illus. with Jon Davis. London, Owlet Books, 1975. Oh Those Cats by Frances Mann. London, Elek Books, 1975. A Quorum of Cats: An Anthology ed. Elizabeth Lee. London, Elek Books, 1976. A Closer Look at Arctic Lands by Jill Hughes. London, Hamilton, 1976. Prehistoric Animals by Barry Cox. Guildford, Lutterworth Press, 1976. A Closer Look at Plains Indians by Christopher Davis, illus. with George Thompson. London, Hamilton, 1977. A Closer Look at Eskimos by Jill Hughes. London, Hamilton, 1977. Ponies by Joyce Pope. London, Scimitar, 1977. Birds of Prey by Cathy Kilpatrick. illus. with Mike Woodhatch. London, Scimitar, 1978. A Closer Look at Amazonian Indians by Stephen Hugh-Jones. London, Hamilton, 1978. A Closer Look at the Bedouin by Fidelity Lancaster. London, Hamilton, 1978. Cats in the Belfry by Doreen Tovey. Stevenage, Herts., Robin Clark, 1978. Horses ed. Henry Pluckrose, illus. with Peter Barrett. London, Hamilton, 1979. Lions and Tigers ed. Henry Pluckrose. London, Hamilton, 1979. A Closer Look at Aboriginies by Jill Hughes, London, Hamilton, 1979. Birds ed. Henry Pluckrose, illus. with John RIgnall. London, Hamilton, 1979. A Comfort of Cats by Doreen Tovey. London, Joseph, 1979. A Closer Look at Grasslands by Catherine Horton. London, Hamilton, 1979. Lifeclass by Jean Medawar. London, Hamilton, 1980. Plains Indians ed. Henry Pluckrose. London, Hamilton, 1980. Aborigines ed. Henry Pluckrose. London, Hamilton, 1981. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. London, Macmillan Children's, 1983. The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. London, Macmillan Children's, 1984. All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling. London, Macmillan, 1984. Lions and Tigers by Jill Hughes, illus. with Peter Barrett. London, Hamilton, 1985. Deserts by Jill Hughes, illus. with Roy Coombs. London, Hamilton, 1986. Human Evolution: An Illustrated Guide by Peter Andrews and Chris Stringer, foreword by Alan Charig. London, British Museum, 1989. Others How Things Began (8 educational posters). London, BBC Educational, 1950. Prehistoric Animals. Brooke Bond, 1971. Wonders of Wildlife. Brooke Bond, 1976. (* Note: The original text for this piece included the following, which has since been proven to relate to another Maurice Wilson entirely: Wilson's autobiography, The Wartime Adventures of B Squadron 'Corpse' (Tunbridge Wells, Parapress, 1997), was publishing posthumously, relating how he joined the 11th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment in 1941 and spent much of the war in a Matilda tank, weathering sandstorms in the Middle East, taking part in the landings at Walcheren and in the 'CDL' experiment which involved placing blindingly bright carbon arc lamps in the turrets of tanks to create a wall of light when the tanks were lined up—an idea that was never used in battle)
Maurice Wilson in 1934 died in an attempt to climb Mount Everest by flying halfway around the world, crash-landing on the mountain, and then walking to the summit despite having no experience in either mountaineering or aviation.
Explore Laoshu64's 10229 photos on Flickr!
Words and Pictures is the online magazine of SCBWI British Isles.
Fables from Aesop - James Reeves 1962 Illustrated by Maurice Wilson
About the Book "In the 1930s, as official government expeditions set their sights on conquering Mount Everest, a little-known World War I veteran named Maurice Wilson conceives his own crazy, beautiful plan: he will fly a plane from England to Everest, crash-land on its lower slopes, then become the first person to reach its summit--all utterly alone. Wilson doesn't know how to climb. He barely knows how to fly. But he has the right plane, the right equipment, and a deep yearning to achieve his goal. In 1933, he takes off from London in a Gipsy Moth biplane with his course set for the highest mountain on earth. Wilson's eleven-month journey to Everest is wild: full of twists, turns, and daring. Eventually, in disguise, he sneaks into Tibet. His icy ordeal is just beginning."--Provided by publisher. Book Synopsis "An outstanding book." --The Wall Street Journal * "Gripping at every turn." --Outside * "A hell of a ride." --The Times (London) An extraordinary true story about one man's attempt to salve the wounds of war and save his own soul through an audacious adventure. In the 1930s, as official government expeditions set their sights on conquering Mount Everest, a little-known World War I veteran named Maurice Wilson conceives his own crazy, beautiful plan: he will fly a plane from England to Everest, crash-land on its lower slopes, then become the first person to reach its summit--completely alone. Wilson doesn't know how to climb. He barely knows how to fly. But he has the right plane, the right equipment, and a deep yearning to achieve his goal. In 1933, he takes off from London in a Gipsy Moth biplane with his course set for the highest mountain on earth. Wilson's eleven-month journey to Everest is wild: full of twists, turns, and daring. Eventually, in disguise, he sneaks into Tibet. His icy ordeal is just beginning. Wilson is one of the Great War's heroes, but also one of its victims. His hometown of Bradford in northern England is ripped apart by the fighting. So is his family. He barely survives the war himself. Wilson returns from the conflict unable to cope with the sadness that engulfs him. He begins a years-long trek around the world, burning through marriages and relationships, leaving damaged lives in his wake. When he finally returns to England, nearly a decade after he first left, he finds himself falling in love once more--this time with his best friend's wife--before depression overcomes him again. He emerges from his funk with a crystalline ambition. He wants to be the first man to stand on top of the world. Wilson believes that Everest can redeem him. This is the "rollicking" (The Economist) tale of an adventurer unlike any you have ever encountered: complex, driven, wry, haunted, and fully alive. He is a man written out of the history books--dismissed as an eccentric and gossiped about because of rumors of his transvestism. The Moth and the Mountain restores Maurice Wilson to his rightful place in the annals of Everest and tells an unforgettable story about the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Review Quotes "An outstanding book . . . The Moth and the Mountain returns readers to a romantic era when Everest was terra nova rather than an experience to be bought . . . The author, a contributing writer for the New Yorker, is a talented storyteller with a flair for detail. . . . Wilson's story is an entry less in the annals of mountaineering than in the Book of Life. That such an extraordinary person even existed is cause for celebration." --The Wall Street Journal "A rollicking biography of an eccentric adventurer, and a sensitive study of the pressures that drove him . . . Unlike the airy and ill-prepared Wilson, Mr. Caesar grounds his story in patient archival sleuthing. Marrying extracts from Wilson's letters and diaries with lively prose, he winningly conveys the glamour and contradictions of this outlandish figure, bringing cinematic vividness to his escapades." --The Economist "Gripping at every turn . . . Caesar tells the story in impressive detail, drawing on years of archival research, and he brings to life a historical character who is both fascinating and maddening. . . . It's impossible not to root for Wilson." --Outside "This slim, riveting book hits all the right notes for an epic tale: the trauma of World War I, messy love triangles, globetrotting adventures, and a wayward soul hellbent on conquering his inner demons." --InsideHook "Irresistible . . . Caesar is a terrific writer. . . . The Moth and the Mountain has many, many riveting moments of storytelling and insight." --BookPage "Ed Caesar has written a slim, ravishing chronicle that is absolutely bursting with life--doomed romance, the dread of the battlefield, the lure of adventure, hair-raising tales of amateur aviation, and, above all, the beauty and madness of the quest to ascend Earth's tallest summit. Maurice Wilson is as rich and full of surprise and contradiction as a character in a novel, and through painstaking historical research, Caesar brings his hero back to vivid life in all his messy, inspiring, ultimately tragic glory. A major feat of reporting and elegant storytelling." --Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing "A wonderful adventure story, beautifully told. Based on years of painstaking archival research, Ed Caesar's The Moth and the Mountain brings us a modern-day myth with a beguiling, impossible hero from a vanished era of empire, one man on an epic quest that is by turns gripping and heartbreaking." --Adam Higginbotham, author of Midnight in Chernobyl "The Moth and the Mountain is a gripping story of heroism, adventure, madness, and thwarted love, told with extraordinary empathy and intelligence. Ed Caesar is a writer of rare style and depth, and he has written a great and moving work of nonfiction." --Mark O'Connell, author of Notes from an Apocalypse "The Moth and the Mountain is gorgeous and deeply affecting book: a tale of tragedy and obsession, pluck and luck, told at the pace of a thriller and bursting with heart. Ed Caesar deploys every ounce of his considerable journalistic skill as he uncovers the true story of a great British eccentric driven by forces he only partly understands to the ends of the earth. This book deserves to be counted alongside Wade Davis's Into The Silence as one of the best ever written about the early attempts to conquer Everest. It is a fine, fine slice of history by a truly special writer who proves time and time again that he is among the best of his generation." --Dan Jones, author of The Templars "A story of adventure and war, of eccentricity and courage, of love and secrets and of the overwhelming urge one man had to climb the world's highest mountain. Ed Caesar writes like a dream, beautifully piecing together Maurice Wilson's life with compassion and intelligence. It's hard to imagine a finer tribute to one of Everest's forgotten heroes." --Elizabeth Day, author of How to Fail "Why climb the world's highest mountain? For King and Country; for the glory of God; because it is there. Or, as for Maurice Wilson, because of an unhappy love affair, a wartime trauma, and a longing to get away from a life whose values are measured at the cash register. In Ed Caesar's telling, the hapless, defiant Wilson becomes an unexpected hero--an unforgettable inspiration for anyone who chafes at the limits of ordinary life." --Benjamin Moser, author of Sontag "Caesar has created a widely appealing and affecting character study, microhistory, story of love and loss, and inquiry into some surprising effects of trauma and personal tragedy." --Booklist "An evocative portrait . . . This entertaining, well-researched chronicle is a valuable addition to mountaineering history." --Publishers Weekly "Credit to Ed Caesar for rescuing such a splendid tale of an engaging maverick from the footnotes of Everest history. . . . Caesar has told the extraordinary story of this intrepid 'madman' in an engrossing biography. . . . A lovely book." --The Spectator "A small classic in the making. . . Drivingly paced yet poignant--a compelling portrait of a broken man who became so fixated on Everest that he tried to climb it. . . . An urgent and humane story." --Sunday Times (London) "Meticulously researched . . . Gem of a book." --The Guardian "This bonkers ripping yarn of derring-don't is a hell of a ride. . . . Scrupulously researched." --The Times (London) About the Author Ed Caesar is an author and a contributing writer to The New Yorker. Before joining The New Yorker, Caesar wrote stories for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Outside, The Smithsonian Magazine, Esquire, The Sunday Times (London), British GQ, and The Independent. He has reported from a wide range of countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo, Russia, and Iran. He has won a number of awards for his journalism, including the 2014 Journalist of the Year from the Foreign Press Association of London. His first book, Two Hours: The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon, was awarded a Cross Sports Book of the Year award.
Jamaican athlete Tyquendo Tracey is making his voice heard as he calls out the head coach of the Jamaica track team, Maurice Wilson, for his alleged unfair
( * © Associated Newspapers)
