Size: 16″x22″ (40x56cm). Type/Media: Gouache Painting, Board. Condition Report: Please see photos. A 100% guarantee is offered with all our art. Len Thurston – Pastoral. We are offering for sale this board. Artwork by Len Thurston. All were obtained directly from the artist’s family and make up the bulk of his surviving work from the period. Rarely did Len sign his work on the front; many have publication information, his name / signature, or his artist label on the reverse along with publication details. There are few readers of popular culture who have not seen Len Thurston’s work – instantly recognizable for the technical brilliance and depiction of period, romance, and character – but few would know his name. Born 12th February, 1934, Len Thurston was a British artist and noted illustrator for book covers and national magazines during the second half of the 20th century. His work appeared regularly in Woman and Woman’s Own, Woman’s Realm, TV Times, and Radio Times. His passion for painting was sparked as a young boy when he attended South East Technical College of Art, where he studied carpentry and woodwork, along with art. It was this formative time that turned a talented young boy into a skilled practitioner. He started his career as a lettering artist enjoying the precision and technical demands of the discipline. He worked at IPC Magazines in Holborn, publishers of Woman and Woman’s Own, rising to Art Editor for the Group before he left in 1968 to pursue a freelance career and, from that point on, he never stopped working. He had started illustrating under the pseudonym Harold Walter during the 1960s and had built up a strong client base of authors and publishers. In the 1970s, in his heyday, he was producing two large paintings a week, using oils and acrylic on board. He worked solidly on book jackets and magazine illustrations for the Readers Digest and Woman’s’ Weekly Library Series, as well as, on advertising posters turning his hand to stylized sixties imagery using bright, flat colours. But it is the romance and period scenes he painted for which he is remembered, created for authors, such as, Catherine Cookson, Josephine Cox, Margaret Kaufman, Jane Carrick, and Freda Lightfoot. The images he created evoked a time and a place; he captured the spirit of the stories’ eponymous heroine and the charm of a recent past. As an artist, he was assured and knew exactly what he wanted to achieve using the same group of models to interpret the author’s story; they became friends and regular visitors to the family home. Among these models and the most recognisable was Gary Myers, the original Milk Tray Man. He turned his talents to portraiture, too, and was commissioned by the TV Times and Radio Times, to paint six portraits of popular television stars, including the cast of Coronation Street, commencing in August 1970 with the indomitable Ena Sharples. It was to Len Thurston the Radio Times turned again for one of their most memorable front covers featuring Charles and Diana. Len Thurston was one of a circle of fellow illustrators and artists working in the artistically productive decades 50s, 60s and 70s. He was highly respected in his circle and John Heseltine, Jerry Fancett, Eric Earnshaw, Fred Laurent and Walter Wyles, were frequent visitors to the family home. He exhibited with his fellow artist, John Heseltine, and had numerous successful solo exhibitions of his work. Before Len Thurston died he destroyed work that he felt was? Not good enough’, but much still survives and occasionally comes up for sale at Private Auctions. His large-scale paintings in acrylic and oil, others oil paintings on card, are sought-after works; each inscribed? Len Thurston’ in pencil on verso, together with detailed title information. They are a fine legacy of an exceptionally talented artist. Publication details: Pastoral, Part 7. Shop to see our full range. Established fine art dealer. Specialist in mid to late 20thC art. 100% no quibble return guarantee. Most UK items are sent tracked via MyHermes or for larger items TNT or Parcelforce. Items are dispatched as soon as possible. This may include a production time of a few days for prints that are produced on demand by publishers. We know you want to get your item as soon as possible, so we do everything to make it happen. We will do everything to solve any problem. Your satisfaction is our priority. Many 20thC and earlier paintings. Rare and modern signed fine art prints. The widest selection of open edition art prints. Antique 19thC, 18thC and 17thC engravings and etchings. An extensive collection of original Hollywood photographs. We will respond as soon as possible. We are here to help if with any issues or questions.