John Norris Wood

John Norris Wood
Wood with a python
Born(1930-11-29)November 29, 1930
London
DiedOctober 17, 2015(2015-10-17) (aged 84)
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materBryanston School, Goldsmiths College, Royal College of Art, East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing
OccupationsRoyal College of Art, Goldsmiths College, Cambridge School of Art, Hornsey College of Art
Known forNatural history illustrator, artist, printmaker and teacher
SpouseJulie Guyatt
ChildrenWilfrid Wood (artist), Dinah Wood

John Norris Wood (29 November 1930 – 17 October 2015) was a British natural history illustrator, printmaker, teacher, and conservationist.[1][2] He founded the Natural History Illustration and Ecological Studies course at the Royal College of Art, London.[3][4]

Early life and education

Wood was born in London on 29 November 1930. His father, Wilfrid Burton Wood, a pioneering physician[5] and his mother Lucy, encouraged his early interest in nature. He attended Bryanston School, Dorset, where his art master introduced him to Edward Bawden.[6] Wood went on to study painting and illustration at Goldsmiths’ College School of Art from 1950 to 1953 where he was taught by Samuel Rabin and Betty Swanwick. From 1955 - 1958, Wood specialized in printmaking and zoological illustration at the Royal College of Art (RCA). His tutors at RCA included Edward Ardizzone, Edward Bawden and John Minton.[7][8] Wood also trained at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing at Benton End run by Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines. Wood later contributed to Benton End Remembered (2002) in which he recalled, "It was a place full of fun (if not a little cantankerousness) which placed art at the centre of things and assumed that artists were really important and necessary to society. The garden was full of the best flowers imaginable, especially bearded irises, and was an Eden to me, warm, protected and complete with European tree frogs which Cedric had imported and which especially delighted me."[9]

Life and career

In 1966, Wood designed a set of Royal Mail postage stamps depicting British birds, bringing his work to a wide public audience.[10] His illustrations were used by Natural History Museum and London Zoo.[11]

In 1971, on the invitation of Robin Darwin, great-grandson to Charles Darwin and rector of the Royal College of Art, Wood established the Natural History Illustration and Ecological Studies course, the first of its kind at an art school.[12][13] Wood was later made a fellow and a professor at the RCA.[14][15]

His illustrations appeared in scientific publications and children’s book like Nature Hide and Seek series.[16][17][18] Wood was a consultant to the BBC's Life on Earth series in 1979.[19]

Exhibitions of his work were held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Fry Art Gallery (2001),[20] the Chappel Galleries (2002),[21] and the Museum of Zoology at the University of Cambridge (2004).[22]

Wood married Julie Guyatt in 1962; the couple had two children, Dinah Wood and sculptor Wilfrid Wood. He lived for many years on a nature reserve he created with his family in East Sussex. John Norris Wood died on 17 October 2015 in Kent at the age of 84.[23]

Works

Nature Hide & Seek: Jungles[24]

Nature Hide & Seek: Rivers and Lakes[25]

Nature Hide & Seek: Woods and Forests[26]

Nature Hide & Seek: Oceans[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Norris Wood, John, 1930–2015 | Art UK". artuk.org. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  2. ↑ "Suffolk Artists - WOOD, John Norris". suffolkartists.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
  3. ↑ Deighton, Len (2015-11-08). "John Norris Wood obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
  4. ↑ "John Norris Wood: Artist and teacher whose work drew on love of nature". The Independent. 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  5. ↑ "Wilfred Burton Wood | RCP Museum". history.rcp.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
  6. ↑ "Suffolk Artists - WOOD, John Norris". suffolkartists.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  7. ↑ "Norris Wood, John, 1930–2015 | Art UK". artuk.org. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  8. ↑ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). gbps.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2026-02-08. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  9. ↑ Reynolds, Gwynneth; Grace, Diana (2002). Benton End Remembered: Cedric Morris, Arthur Lett-Haines and the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing. Unicorn Press. ISBN 978-0-906290-69-9.
  10. ↑ "Search results". The Postal Museum Catalogue. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  11. ↑ "Chris Beetles Gallery". www.chrisbeetles.com. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  12. ↑ "Discover John Norris Wood – Inexpensive Progress". Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  13. ↑ "Archives & collections". RCA Website. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  14. ↑ "College Honours". RCA Website. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  15. ↑ "Muswell Hill artist adds another feather to her cap by exhibiting at the museum where mother worked". Enfield Independent. 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  16. ↑ "inauthor:"John Norris Wood" - Google Search". www.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  17. ↑ Wood, John Norris; Harrison, Mark (2009-09-11). Nature Hide and Seek: Oceans. Mathew Price Limited. ISBN 978-1-935021-57-5.
  18. ↑ Wood, John Norris (2008). Nature Hide and Seek: Woods and Forests. Mathew Price Limited. ISBN 978-1-935021-07-0.
  19. ↑ "John Norris Wood: Artist and teacher whose work drew on love of nature". The Independent. 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  20. ↑ "Fry Gallery - The Collection - Artist". www.fryartgallery.org. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  21. ↑ John Norris Wood: Natural History prints, drawings, watercolours : Kate Denton : sculpture. Chappel Galleries. 2002.
  22. ↑ "Suffolk Artists - WOOD, John Norris". suffolkartists.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  23. ↑ Deighton, Len (2015-11-08). "John Norris Wood obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  24. ↑ Wood, John Norris (1987). Jungles. Methuen Australia. ISBN 978-0-454-01434-1.
  25. ↑ Wood, John Norris (October 2007). Rivers and Lakes. Mathew Price, Limited. ISBN 978-1-84248-050-2.
  26. ↑ Wood, John Norris (2008). Nature Hide and Seek: Woods and Forests. Mathew Price Limited. ISBN 978-1-935021-07-0.
  27. ↑ Wood, John Norris (1985). Nature Hide & Seek: Oceans. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-394-87583-5.
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