WOOD, John Norris

1930 - 2015

John Norris Wood was born in London on 29 November 1930, son of Wilfrid Burton Wood (28 December 1883-3 November 1943), the eminent physician, and his wife Lucy Heald Sutcliffe née Boston (27 April 1896-25 June 1977) who married at Ormskirk in 1929 and John grew up in Shalford Green, near Braintree, Essex. John was educated at Bryanston School, being influenced by the art master, Charles Handley-Read (4 April 1916–17 October 1971) who, in turn, introduced him to Edward Bawden. Bawden invited him to Great Bardfield, Essex, gave him some lessons allowing him to use his studio "if he didn’t speak". He studied at Goldsmiths College, under Clive Gardiner (3 April 1891–15 May 1960) and his tutors included Samuel Rabin (20 June 1903-20 December 1991), Adrian Ryan and Betty Swanwick (22 May 1915-22 May 1989) before proceeding to the Royal College of Art, where his tutors included Edward Ardizzone, John Minton (25 December 1917-20 January 1957) and, most significantly, Edward Bawden and while at the Royal College of Art, he won a silver medal for zoological drawing. From around 1952, he spent periods at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing at Benton End, Hadleigh, Suffolk. Wood taught at Goldsmiths College 1956-1968, Cambridge School of Art 1959-1970 and at Hornsey College of Art and in 1971 he returned to the Royal College of Art being elected a Fellow in 1980. In 1962 Wood married the designer, Julie Corsellis (Nicholls) 1934-18 May 2001), her mother Elizabeth Corsellis married in 1941 designer, Richard Guyatt (8 May 1914-17 October 2007). The Wood's lived at Garretts, Shalford, Essex and had two children. Wood became a freelance artist and illustrator, working for a variety of book and magazine publishers in Britain and America. His series for children, ‘Nature Hide and Seek’, which he wrote and co-illustrated with Kevin John Dean (July 1959-), was designated best children’s books of the year by the US Association for the Advancement of Science also writing and broadcasting for television on several natural history subjects. Wood exhibited widely in London and the provinces, and internationally. His solo shows include those at the Fry Gallery, Saffron Walden; Chappel Galleries, Colchester and the Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge. A member of the Society of Wildlife Artists in 1997 and a member of the Society of Authors and the Thomas Hardy Society. John Norris Wood latterly lived at Wadhurst, East Sussex and died on 17 October 2015.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from The Brook, Dewhurst Lane, Wadhurst, Sussex
1977 744 Horned Toad - lithograph
         745 Great Crested Newts or Tritons - pen
         746 Baby Alligator - pen
1978 1288 British Swallowtail Butterfly - hand coloured woodcut
1979 181 Little Owl sketches from life - pen
1981 798 The Bee Tyger Hawk Moth - print
         1404 The largest and smallest frog species in USA - watercolour
1982 335 Wood Turtles - lithograph
         336 Exotic Frogs, from Life - lithograph
         337 White's Tree Frogs - lithograph
1983 178 East African Chameleon, from Life - lithograph with watercolour
         284 Asian Tree Frog, from Life - lithograph with watercolour
         285 Poison Arrow Frogs (South Africa) - lithograph with watercolour
1985 685 Common Frogs and Toads from Life - lithograph with watercolour
         701 Ornate Horned Frogs from Life - lithograph with watercolour
1986 1582 Giant Toad, studies from Life - lithograph with watercolour
1987 1283 Great Crested Newts or Tritons from Life - hand coloured lithograph
         1284 British Dragon Flies - hand coloured woodcut
1988 1238 Rothchild's Atlas, from Life - etching, aquatint and watercolour
         1242 Garden Butterflies - hand coloured woodcut and lithoprint
1990 218 White Tree Frog, from Life - etching, aquatint and watercolour

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Works by This Artist