Society of Wood Engravers

19 Mar

84th annual exhibition

19 March - 14 May, Riverside Gallery

Wood engraving is at once the simplest and one of the most exquisite forms of printmaking. The print is made, first, by engraving the reversed design or picture to be printed into the mirror-smooth surface of a block of endgrain wood.
The Society of Wood Engraving (SWE) exists to promote wood engraving.

The Society was founded in 1920 by a group of artists that included Philip Hagreen, Robert Gibbings, Lucien Pissaro, Gwen Raverat and Eric Gill.

The SWE has built up an international reputation for excellence. The annual exhibition, stringently selected from an open submission, visits several venues each year, showing the best of current work from Britain and other countries.

Wood Engraving Demonstration

Friday 13th of May 2022, 11am-1pm

Drop in to the Riverside gallery to see Hilary Paynter demonstrating her engraving and printmaking process.

No need to book.

Anne Desmet RA is an experienced printmaking tutor and was editor of Printmaking Today from 1998-2013. In this video, she takes us through each step in creating a wood engraving, including tips on how to use traditional tools like the diamond graver and the spitsticker. She is one of only three wood engravers to be elected as Academicians in the Royal Academy’s nearly 250-year history. This film was made by the Royal Academy.

Laura Wasley