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group who would produce prints for the show from the
declared edition of 50 or 60. In the mid-1930s some of
the artists would begin a second edition for America if the
first was particularly successful and the prints would be
inscribed with the appropriate fraction e.g. '1/50 USA'.
Their work has found a very firm place in the annals of
twentieth-century printmaking and has stimulated an
international circle of collectors attracted by the energy,
colour and modernity of the prints. Examples can be
found in many international museums including the
British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London, MoMa New York and national museums in
Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Sadly, I never met Sybil but I corresponded with her
on several occasions and for a few years represented
her in the UK. I wish I had met this remarkable woman
who began her journey with local exhibitions in Bury St
Edmunds, moved to the great metropolis of London in
the early 1920s, became the school secretary at the
Grosvenor School, attended Claude Flight's classes,
married and left the UK for a new life in the then
extremely remote settlement of Campbell River on
Vancouver Island – all while perfecting a style that
would gain her international acclaim as one of the most
influential printmakers of the 20th century.
Sybil Andrews. 1918
Sybil Andrews at home, c.1990's
Photograph: © Jurgen Vogt
