John Hurford (born 1948) is a prolific English psychedelic artist. He was born on a farm in Chulmleigh, Devon, England and began painting soon after he left school in 1964. Self-taught and with no formal training, he quickly became one of the real forces behind the British psychedelic art movement, and he was a contributor to all three of the most influential and important underground publications of the 1960s: Oz (magazine), Gandalf's Garden and International Times.
He is an honorary member of the South West Academy. His work has been reproduced in many magazines and books since the nineteen sixties and his early work is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. He has been shown in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney in New York and The Tate Gallery in Liverpool.
His early work (as much of it still is today) was crowded with flowers, birds and insects – highly detailed observations from the natural world he saw around him in the Devon countryside where he lives.
He started to work on the farm immediately on leaving school at sixteen and continued to draw and paint. In the late sixties he successfully submitted work to counter-culture magazines. He painted in the evenings while working on the farm. He continued to work on books and produced fine art paintings, first in oils then in acrylics, pencil and watercolour. He has had many books published, has had many exhibitions locally and in New Zealand, France and London.
In 2001 he started painting full time still designing posters and album covers including Gryphon (Band), Judy Dyble, Lowell Lovinger (The Youngbloods), Barry Melton, It's a beautiful Day, Martin Stone (guitarist) but concentrates on fine art painting – usually in acrylic on canvas, paper or wood panel.
Bibliography[edit]
1970: Betty's Wonderful Christmas – Pam Gems (St Lukes Press) UK illustrated
1972: The Eternal Man – Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier (Souvenir Press) UK cover
1973: Moby Dick – Herman Melville (J.M.Dent) UK cover
1974: The Lion of Boaz-Jachim and Jachim-Boaz – Russell Hoban (Cape) UK, cover
1973: The Spring on the Mountain – Judy Allen (Cape) UK cover
1974: The Dormouse – John Hurford (Cape) written and illustrated,(Spindlewood) UK hardback and paperback reprint
1974: The Faerie Queen – Edmund Spenser (J.M.Dent) UK cover
1974: The Lion of Boaz-Jachim and Jachim-Boaz (Picador) UK cover
1974: The Whys and Wherefores of Littabelle Lee – Vera and Bill Cleaver (Hamish Hamilton) UK cover
1974: World Wildlife Diary (Collins) UK all illustrations
1975: ABC of Animals (Cape) UK written and illustrated
1975: The Whispering Butterfly – George Lavin UK cover
1980: Fredgehog – John Hurford (Spindlewood) UK written and illustrated
1988: Jordy – Mary-Ellen Lang Collura (Spindlewood) UK cover
1988 Julie – Cora Taylor (Spindlewood) UK cover
1989: Alex – Tessa Duder (Penguin) NZ cover
1989: At Night – Marcia Vaughan (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1989: The Crab at the Bottom of the Sea (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1989: The Priests of Ferris – Maurice Gee (Puffin) NZ cover
1989: The Ultimate Heresy – John Seymour (Green Books) UK cover
1990: A Happy Tale – Dorothy Butler (Random Century) NZ, (Crocodile Books) US, (Bodley Head) UK illustrated
1990: Dump Bear – Jenny Hessell (Random Century) NZ, (Ashton Scholastic) global illustrated
1990: Son of Thunder – Stig Holmas (Spindlwood) UK illustrated
1990: The Little Spider – Margaret Beames (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1990: The Myth of the Market – Jeremy Seabrook (Green Books) UK cover
1990: The Selfish Giant – Leanna Traill (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1991: Alex in Winter – Tessa Duder (Penguin) NZ cover
1991: Amazing Journeys – Ron Bacon (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus part illustrated
1991: Another Happy Tale – Dorothy Butler (Random Century) NZ, (Crocodile Books) US illustrated
1991: Famous Children – Allen Trussell-Cullen (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus part illustrated
1991: Mr Cat – Ruth Corrin (Random Century) NZ illustrated
1992: Alessandra – Alex in Rome (Penguin) NZ cover
1992: `Bow Down Shadrach – Joy Cowley (Puffin) NZ cover
1992: Hideaway – Joan de Hamel (Puffin) NZ cover
1992: Marcella – Owen McShane (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus, illustrated
1992: Rabbit Stew – John Hurford (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus written and illustrated
1992: Songs for Alex – Tessa Duduer (Oxford University Press) NZ cover
1993: Big Green Caterpillar – Julie Holland (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1993: How Fire Came to Earth – Avelyn Davidson (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1993: I Have a Question Grandma – Catie Belleveau (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1993: Isememe's Stories – Isimeme Ibazebo (Spindlewood) NZ, (Bok Books) Pan African illustrated
1993: Someone Came Knocking – Anne Merrick (Spindlewood) cover
1993: The Haunted Glass – Diane Howells (Spindlewood) UK cover
1994: A Wetland Home – Mary Small (Sunshine Books) Aus, NZ, US illustrated
1994: Apache Pass – Stig Holmas (Spindlewood) UK cover
1994: Hide and Seek – Saviour Pirotta (Collins) UK illustrated
1994: Luke's First Day – Chris Lutratio (Collins) UK illustrated
1994: Watery Worlds – Janine Scott (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus part illustrated
1994: What am I? – Susan Brocker (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus part illustrated
1995: Columbine – Franzeska G. Ewart (Spindlewood) UK cover
1995: Dark Waters – Tessa Potter (Spindlewood) UK cover
1995: Fira Wagons – Stig Holmas (Spindlewood) UK illustrated
1996: Hannah's Ghosts – Anne Merrick (Spindlewood0_ UK cover
1996: Honey Tree – Traditional (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus cover
1995: In the Past – Susan Brocker (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus part illustrated
1996: People of the Rising Sun – Stig Holmas (Spindlewood) UK illustrated
1996: Te Papaka – Leanna Trail (Shortland) NZ illustrated
1995: Trog – Ruth Corrin (Sunshine Books) NZ illustrated
1997: Burrows – Marcia Vaughan (Shortlands) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1997: How Lizard Lost His Colors – Jay Steele (Shortlands) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1997: Nature Detective – Lynette Evans (Shortlands) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1997: No Roof in Bosnia – Els de Groen (Spindlewood) UK cover
1997: Roberto's Smile – Joy Cowley (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1997: The Story of Small Fry – Marcia Vaughan (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1997: The Sunday Horse – Marie Gibson (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1997: What Can it Be? – Dorothy Avery (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1997: Who? – Augie Hunter (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1997: Whose Tracks? – Marcia Vaughan (Celebration Press) US illustrated
1998: Como Aprendio A Volar El Murcielago – Edwin Johns (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1998: How Bat Learned to Fly – Edwin Johns (Shortlands) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
1998: Snow – Jo Windsor (Heinemann) NZ illustrated
1999: Androcles and the Lion – Janine Scott (Shortland) NZ, US, AUS, UK illustrated
1999: Isn't it Cool? – Diana Short Yurkovic (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus part illustrated
2000: Snake's Reward – Traditional (Mexico) (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus illustrated
2000: What's this Spider Doing? – John Hurford (Shortland) NZ, US, Aus written and illustrated
2001: No Roof in Bosnia – Els de Groen (Spindlewood) UK new cover
2001: The Dead are listening – Francis McCrickard (Spindlewood) UK cover
2001: Snow Globe – Anne Merrick (Spindlewood) UK cover
2006: Johnny, the Work of Psychedelic Artist John Hurford – John Hurford, edited Jonathan Hill (Sunrise Press) UK, Global entire
2010: Ackroyd's Ark Two – charity book for Tusk Trust one painting
2014: The Art of Big O (Big Vision Publishing) US, UK ten pages
2014: South West Academy Art+People+Place – Michael Carter (Halstar) examples of his fine art
2015: Later Graphic Work – John Hurford (Wixon Editions) entire
2016: You Say You Want a Revolution (Exhibition catalogue – Victoria and Albert Museum, London) UK (Harry N Abrahams) US
2016: Rural Bliss (Wixon Editions) entire
2017: British Underground Press of the Sixties (Rocket 88) UK illustrations included
2018: It Must be Art – Michael Fishel (Schiffer) US
2018: Moth – Jane Springer (LSU Press) US cover
2019: One Hundred Years of the Society of Graphic Fine Arts (SGFA) UK examples of his fine art
External links[edit]
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