Monday, November 13, 2006

Laurence Bagley

Another author/artist. Note that in the picture above he's called Lawrence Bagley in error.

Laurence Cyril Bagley contributed to Swift Annual 5, 8 and 9, the last two cover dated 1962 and 1963, the latter supplied with credits to each of the stories and features which makes identification a whole lot easier. Also contributed to Girl Annual and probably elsewhere.

Bagley would appear to have specialised in maritime and aviation subjects and I've noticed one or two pieces of original artwork (such as the example below) coming up for sale. Other than that, there's a distinct lack of biographical information on him.


Non-fiction
How to Fly, illus. by the author. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1953.
The Boys' Book of Aircraft, illus. by the author. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1954.

Illustrations
A Quest for Speed, by Christopher Dawson; illus. by Laurence Bagley. London, Hutchinson & Co., 1972.
Glenan's Weather Forecasting. A Manuel for Yachtsmen, translated from the French by James MacGibbon. Newton Abbott, David & Charles, 1980.

13 comments:

  1. Laurence Bagley was my father. He was a commercial artist who lived in Lee-on the Solent in Hampshire UK for most of his life. His writing was overtaken by marine paintings in his latter years. His most successful commission (commercially anyway) was lively lady, Alec Rose's yacht which sailed single-handed round the world. He died aged 61 in 1983.

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    1. I also have a print of "Lively Lady". It was my mother in law's what lived in testing road in Southsea.

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  2. Thanks for getting in touch - it's in the hope of receiving comments such as these that I put together these columns.

    A little further digging gives his date of birth as 20 October 1922 (although I cannot discover where) and he was married to Kathleen I. Grant in 1947.

    If you care to share any more memories of your father, please drop me a line. It would be interesting to learn more about his career.

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  3. I'm researching a lot of Dad's history right now. I intend to publish a biography and a catalogue on his website. It's only been published this week; just a homepage for now.
    Watch this space: www.laurencebagley.com

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  4. I look forward to seeing more as the site develops.

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  5. I have a wonderful print of 'Lively Lady' which was a gift from my grandmother to my mother. It has pride of place in my house. Look forward to reading Laurence Bagley's biography once complete. x

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  6. Hi, I have one of Laurence Bagley's prints of the lively lady. It was my mothers, she lived in Portsmouth at that time and had it signed by Sir Alec Rose in his fruit and veg shop. It is framed and I wondered if anyone could advise me of the value if any? Thank you

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  7. I am making some progress with the laurencebagley.com website now and hope to be launching it before the end of this year. In the meantime there is now a wikipedia page which contains a wiki version of my father's biography.

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  8. I have an oil painting of two tall ships at sea. The painting measures 30" x 40". There is no signature on the canvas, but the name "Bagley" is hand-written in two places on the back of the wood frame. Is it possible Laurence Bagley was the artist that painted this piece? I can send a photo of the painting if anyone is interested. I can be reached at weprima@gmail.com. Thanks. -Mark

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  9. We have just launched the new Laurence Bagley website, which we are very excited about. The home page is based on his studio and we have over 500 pictures in the galleries.
    www.laurencebagley.com

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  10. Good luck with the new website ... it is mightily impressive and seems very comprehensive. Well done!

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  11. I found a print signed and stamped by L Bagley, I have looked and found out that he did paint it it is the Joshua Slocum's Spray print with seal from Solomon and Whitehead Limited Prints I was looking to find out more information on it and also if it is valuable. Thank you in advance . Aaron W

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  12. I have a painting by Laurence of Clair Francis boat. Don’t know what to do with it to be honest.

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