Peter Reddick (1924-2010)

Peter was one of the country’s leading wood engravers and printmakers and illustrated a number of books for the Folio Society particularly the work of Thomas Hardy and Anthony Trollope, the Limited Editions Club, New York, The Readers Digest amongst other publishers.
He was made Gregynog Arts Fellow between 1979 and 1980 and the work he made during that year was sponsored by the Welsh Arts Council on a tour that went to twelve different locations ending in Cardiff. Manchester Metropolitan University’s archive collection holds a great range of his developmental prints and original sketches as well as some editioned prints, original artwork in other media and some associated correspondence. The archive collection is a resource of national significance for the study of twentieth century book illustration, art and design and textile design. He regularly exhibited with the Society of Wood Engravers and RWA.

He used the wood-engraving technique developed by Thomas Bewick and his successors from the end of the 18th-century onwards. He used the end grain of the wood (typically a very hard wood such as boxwood) to make his incision, whereas the traditional woodcut is made using the softer side-grain.