Felix Bernasconi ARCA dedicated much of his long life to capturing in paint the scenery of his beloved Norfolk. Trained at the Royal Academy under the eye of three ‘Greats’ of British art – Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious and John Nash – after distinguished war service, Felix joined Jarrolds the well-known Norwich printing company, as head of their design studio. From the 1940s onwards he spent weekends and holidays creating hundreds of paintings and sketches of scenes which today perfectly evoke the county as it used to be.

Only after his death in 2001 were literally hundreds of his paintings salvaged from almost certain destruction by a friend and companion, John Bridges, who set about conserving and cataloguing the collection, realising the importance of his find. It is these paintings that make up the body of this superb book, combined with a story of the artist himself compiled from family papers and memories of those who knew him.

John Bridges was instrumental in saving from destruction the paintings which appear in this book. A friend and companion to Felix Bernasconi, he also provided much of the information used in the biographical introduction to the book. John lives in Norwich with his wife Kathleen and daughter Rachael.

Adrian Hill provided advice and support in conserving and cataloguing the collection of Bernasconi paintings. He is the Director of the Picturecraft Gallery in Holt, Norfolk.

Simon Butler FRSA, publisher and author, contributed the Introduction to the book compiled from family archives and interviews.

Imprint: Halstar. ISBN 978 1 906690 04 5, hardback, 238x258mm, 128 pages. Published October 2008.

REVIEWS: Suffolk and Norfolk Life.