Fish Laurence

Year working: 1909 - 2009

Laurence Fish was a self-taught commercial graphic artist but gained much initial training by working under Mark Young at coachbuilders Carlton Carriage in the mid 1930s. The designs were intended for Alvis agents Follett in Mayfair. In January 1939 he joined Iliffe Press in the studio run by the legendary Max Millar and here he learned cutaway drawing skills and technical drawing that was used by group publications such as Autocar magazine. During the war he was in the RAF volunteer reserve and then joined Lord Victor Rothschild's counter sabotage unit in MI5, particularly as an artist to draw special mechanisms. After the war he was a founder member of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers, and became internationally known as a painter/illustrator. His work was commissioned and owned by most of the large industrial companies, including Shell, BP, Dunlop, Bristol Aeroplane Company, Hawker Siddeley, BOAC, MG Cars, British Rail and the Indian Air Force. He moved on to editorial magazine illustration, particularly figure subjects and from there to a spell in graphic design. Although he had continued to paint and to undertake commissions during this time he was not able to concentrate on painting full time until the 1980's. Since then his paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and at many London and provincial galleries

The Motor magazine 14th November 1951