Lot 371: [ BOOK ]

Worsley (John, R.S.M.A., 1919-2000). A collection of twenty-six original illustrations for Treasure Island, together twenty-six gouache and watercolour paintings, some heightened with bodycolour, some for 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson retold by Jane Carruth, pub. Golden Press, New York, 1975, some for the television programme 'Treasure Island' made by Anglia Television Limited, mostly on card, but a few on board, eight signed, and a couple dated 1972, all approx. 480 x 640 mm (19 x 25 ins), together with a copy of Jane Carruth's book John Godfrey Bernard Worsley was born in Liverpool, and he studied fine art at Goldsmiths College, London, afterwards working as an illustrator for romance magazines before joining the Navy. As a midshipman he was one of the youngest war artists and took part in the Allied landings in Italy and Sicily. In 1943 he was taken prisoner by the Germans. He was held with other British naval prisoners at Marlag-O, where he recorded prison life with materials supplied b the Red Cross, assembling such an impressive portfolio that German admirals visited the camp to admire his work. He was also involved in a celebrated escape attempt - later turned into a feature film - which involved use of a dummy prisoner with a realistic papier-maché head. He returned to England after the war and opened a studio in London, becoming a versatile and prolific artist. He drew the comic strip PC49 for the boys comic book Eagle in the 1950s and also created colour illustrations for television readings of children's stories as well as painted portraits of British military leaders. In the late 1960s he became the police artist for Scotland Yard, producing more than 1000 sketches of suspects from victims' descriptions. He also painted seascapes and in the 1980s served as president of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. His wartime sketches were collected in 'John Worsley's War', published in 1993. His war paintings are housed in the Imperial War Museum and the National Maritime Museum. (27)