Artists at Curwen-Celebrating the Spirit of Joy in Printed Things.

Founded in 1863 by the Reverend John Curwen; following John Curwen's death in 1880 the printing press was passed to his two sons who continued their father's mission to secure and expand the company, and who changed its direction-focusing entirely on publishing. The reverend's grandson, Harold Curwen, joined the family business in 1908. Harold encouraged diversification and expanded the company's outreach, establishing Curwen Press as a leader in the field of fine commercial printing. Crucially, the Press began to work directly with artists, including Claud Lovat Fraser, who designed the iconic visual identity of Curwen Press that is centred around the image of a unicorn. The company's "courageous" approach to printing, marketed by the slogan "Get the spirit of joy into your printed things'" made a vital contribution to the shifts in newspaper and poster advertising that occurred after the second world war.

The direction of Curwen Press was to change again when Oliver Simon joined the company in 1920. Although he was primarily concerned with publishing, he succeeded in forging links between Curwen and the Royal College of Art. The working relationship between Harold Curwen and Oliver Simon has been credited with turning Curwen Press into 'an agent of cultural change'. During this period the Press commissioned work from leading artists including Edward Bawden, Claud Lovat Fraser, Paul Nash and Eric Ravilious and Edward McKnight Kauffer. From the 1930s the Press was an advocate for lithography and the mass production of original work.

The Curwen Studio's reputation was solidified in the 1960's onwards by the work it did with major artists such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, John Piper, Ceri Richards, William Scott, Alan Davie and Elisabeth Frink. In 1977 the Tate Gallery presented the exhibition Artists at Curwen that mapped the key figures in Curwen's history; and in 2008, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Curwen Studio, Tate published Art and Print: The Curwen Story, fully documenting the history of the Curwen Press and Studio.

Mark Hearld, British b.1974- "Birds and Beasts, Curwen Menagerie"; lithograph printed in colours, signed and numbered 32/75 and dated 09 in black crayon, 64x101cm, (unframed) (may be subject to Droit de Suite)