author
1895–1973
A leading British printmaker and illustrator of the 20th century, he brought remarkable precision and atmosphere to engraving, watercolor, and book illustration. His work also reached a wide public through poster design and even banknote imagery.
Born in Leicester in 1895, Robert Sargent Austin studied at the Leicester School of Art and later at the Royal College of Art. He built a reputation as an engraver, illustrator, and watercolorist, and is often remembered as one of Britain’s notable printmakers of the mid-1900s.
Austin taught engraving at the Royal College of Art and later became a professor in graphic design there. During the Second World War he also served as an official war artist, adding another dimension to a career that already stretched across fine art, publishing, and design.
He collaborated with his wife, Ada Harrison, on illustrated books including Some Tuscan Cities and Some Umbrian Cities. Over the course of his career he was recognized by major British art institutions, and he died in 1973.