Five Circles

Born in Hampstead, London, on 19 March 1908, Rothenstein was the youngest of four. He studied at Chelsea Polytechnic and Central School of Arts and Crafts, 1924-7. He had his first one-man show in 1938 and during World War II participated in the Pilgrim Trust Recording Britain project. After the war, he taught printmaking at Camberwell School of Art and was Art Fellow at Sheffield University in 1962.

Rothenstein became one of the most experimental printmakers in Britain during the ‘50s and ’60s. As well as found objects such as wood offcuts and metal debris, he incorporated fresh 20th century imagery into his relief prints, combining photographic material with traditional woodcuts and linocuts. Numerous major galleries currently hold his work and he was made Hon. RE and elected RA in 1983.