Lion Gallery

The Evangelical Symbols, 800 AD, (20th century)

The Evangelical Symbols, 800 AD, (20th century). The winged man is St Matthew, the winged lion St Mark, the winged ox St Luke and the eagle represents St John. A 20th-century copy of the illustrated manuscript, produced by Celtic monks around AD 800. Illustration from The Book of Kells, described by Sir Edward Sullivan, Bart, 4th edition, published in London in about 1920

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images

The Circus at Covent Garden Theatre with the Lion going through his performance, 1890. Creator: Unknown

The Circus at Covent Garden Theatre with the Lion going through his performance, 1890

© The Print Collector/Heritage Images

1890s, 19th Century, Animal, Animals, B W, Black And White, Black White, Britain, British, Bw, Century, Circus, Circus Act, Circus Costume, Circus Performer, Circus Ring, Covent Garden Theatre, Entertainment, Guy, Horse, Horses, Indoors, Inside, Interior, Lion, Male, Man, Men, Newspaper, Newspapers, Nineteenth Century, People, Performance, Performer, Performing, Playhouse, Press, Ringmaster, The Graphic, The Print Collector, Theatre, Unknown, Victorian

The Circus, mock-up for a book cover, c1950. Creator: Shirley Markham

The Circus, mock-up for a book cover, c1950. Illustration for "The Circus" by E Dermot Wellington. Shirley Markham (1931-1999) studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Central School of Art in London from 1950-1952. The writer, artist, poet, and illustrator Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) was one of her tutors, and her style of drawing was also influenced by other British illustrators such as Edward Ardizzone, Quentin Blake and Edward Bawden. Markham spent time in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy, and also visited Rome, sketching classical buildings. After graduating from Central, she worked as a graphic designer, producing book illustrations, cartoons for comics, menus and programmes. She gave up her promising career however when she got married in 1957. Middle-class women at that time were expected to devote their energies to bringing up children and running the home, and despite her obvious talent, she lacked the confidence to return to illustration. Her portfolio remained in the family attic for many years, but now her work is published here for the first time

© Shirley Markham Collection / Heritage-Images