It was inspired by an early love of the witty, stylish and decorative ads created for Guinness stout: an appreciation instilled in me by my father who had worked in commercial art (as it was then called) before WWII and who later became an architectural draughtsman for a rival brewery.
Dad would comment on Guinness posters and press ads and it was the artists, cartoonists and illustrators who made them that became my first heroes in the sphere of graphic art: Bateman, Fraser, Eckersley, Games, Searle, Hoffnung, Emett, Ardizzone and others.
When I got to write my book (the first to explore the Guinness advertising legacy) I met many of the artists and copywriters who had been responsible for the work I had long admired and collected, among them John Gilroy who, more than anyone was responsible for establishing the quirky way in which the brewers promoted their celebrated beverage.
Playing on the words associated with Guinness – for example 'strength' and 'goodness' – Gilroy's iconic ads featured, among much else, stolid British workmen displaying acts of titanic endurance and a mischievous menagerie of birds and beasts that consistently conspired to steal the long-suffering Zoo-keeper's bottle of sustenance...
Accompanying a first-ever biography of Gilroy, is a veritable one-man art exhibition crammed full of much-loved favourites (the ostriches, toucans and sea lions being as playful as ever, great sporting jokes and the surprising adventures of Alice in a Guinness Wonderland) along with highly energetic preliminary sketches for some of the artist's classic poster designs and intriguing ideas that never got beyond the stage of 'roughs'...
The 260-page book, which has an introduction by the artist's grandson, Jim Gilroy, and a foreword by Rory Guinness, is published in hardback by Liberties Press at £29.99. As a special offer, copies can be purchased for £20.00 directly from the author, signed by him and the other contributors along with Edward Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh. Contact David Hughes to order.
As well as passing complimentary comments about my own volume, Gilroy was Good for Guinness includes several examples of Guinness art from my own collection including this preliminary pastel drawing of the Bear from the zoo series that was given to me by the artist...
