Eye Magazine

The history of modern Britain is reflected in this book through the span of years in which David Gentleman (see Eye 78) has been working, with his commemorative stamps marking the 1966 World Cup, the birth of Post Office telecommunications, the first Concorde flight (the one-and-six pence stamp) and the BBC’s 50th anniversary in 1972. From 2003 there is his Stop the War Coalition poster design, with its splash of blood that was used again in 2025 on thousands of Gaza placards.

The person who brought these things to life is an artist with a singular dedication to the task and enjoyment of drawing, which he has done nearly every day for 90 years, since the age of five. Gentlemen doesn’t mind if the starting point is a commission or a subject of his choice. For 50 years he has had the same studio at the top of his house in London, with views across Camden, where he works and where decades of drawings are stored. He has always drawn his landscapes and city scenes outside, taking with him a folding stool and pencils, paper, ink and watercolour, his favourite material.

When I went to see him to find out more, Gentlemen said, ‘It’s all in the book.’ Early in his career he decided never to teach (‘It takes up a lot of time’), but now, for the first time, he has put together a collection of his reflections and advice about art to inspire young people in particular. Each concise lesson occupies a right-hand page opposite one of his drawings, often beautifully chosen, such as an avenue of dense trees next to the advice: ‘If you’re really stuck, go for a walk.’ There are further pages filled with drawings and commissions, including my own favourite, the 32 New Penguin Shakespeare covers.

‘Art helps you to see and understand your surroundings and your feelings about them,’ he says in the book. He advises: ‘Just get on with it. There’s no magical moment when some unseen force tells you to do this or that … See where the process takes you … I don’t think you can ever imagine exactly what you’re after … You may not please everyone.’ The prompt to ‘seek encouragement’ is illustrated by a treasured work by each of his parents – a painting by his mother and a poster by his father. His sketches of military service at the age of eighteen brought back memories of that experience and he warns: ‘Be careful what you throw away.’

Gentleman has bright eyes that do not miss a thing. His sharpness is mixed with the calm aura of a person who chose an occupation that suited him perfectly, to which he has dedicated an intensity of gaze and purpose. Never stopping, he is now working on new drawings using old photos as reference (‘For my family, about my life, my very early days’), as he continues to follow his own advice that ‘The only way to become an artist is to do it.’

Lucinda Rogers artist, illustrator, London

First published in Eye no. 109 vol. 28, 2025