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Martin Battersby

The Art of Deception
By Martin Pel
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Brief Description
Examining the life and career of a forgotten yet significant artist who influenced not only art and design but was a pioneer of queer art and aesthetics. Martin Battersby (1914–1982) was a polymath whose career covered numerous disciplines and placed him in many roles, including theatre... Read More
Format: Hardback
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Examining the life and career of a forgotten yet significant artist who influenced not only art and design but was a pioneer of queer art and aesthetics

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Examining the life and career of a forgotten yet significant artist who influenced not only art and design but was a pioneer of queer art and aesthetics.

Martin Battersby (1914–1982) was a polymath whose career covered numerous disciplines and placed him in many roles, including theatre designer, textile designer, interior decorator, fine artist, and connoisseur and collector of the decorative arts.

At age twenty-three he designed his first stage set for a production of Hamlet starring Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic. His theatrical work and skills as a muralist also saw him working with Rex Whistler and Lotte Reiniger in the years before World War II, and as Cecil Beaton's assistant after World War II. Like Whistler, Battersby worked in the trompe l'oeil tradition, creating outstanding artworks for individuals and institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. Battersby was considered at the time to be Britain's most important trompe l'oeil artist, and he had eighteen exhibitions of his work during his lifetime.

Unlike his contemporaries, Battersby has been largely forgotten, possibly due to his humble beginnings and, in later life, his overtly queer lifestyle. This is the first publication to fully examine Battersby and his important contribution to the arts and society of the twentieth century.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300285222

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 03 November 2026

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Illustration: 158 colour + b-w illus

Audience: General / adult, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 171.0mm

Height: 241.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 288

Collections

Arts & Culture Biography & Memoir Fashion & Design Martin Pel Musicians, Movie Stars & Creative Biographies Non-Fiction Photography Books

About the Author

Martin Pel is curator of fashion and textiles at the Royal Pavilion & Museums in Brighton. He has curated and co-curated over 10 exhibitions and written and/or edited five publications, including Gluck: Art & Identity and Biba: The Fashion Brand That Defined a Generation.

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