Lacey (Edward Hill)

, , 1926.
a robust older woman gleefully holds a large dead rat by the tip of its tail, her beaming smile revealing her decaying teeth.

Edward Hill Lacey (1891-1967), sculptor and printmaker, was born and educated in Bradford, attending the School of Art there until called up to fight in the First World War. During that time, he applied to the sculpture department at the Slade, where he was encouraged to draw everything he saw in his service life and to re-apply when the conflict was over. Succeeding in this, he supplemented his studies in sculpture with drawing portraits, in which he flourished, even teaching himself etching to extend his practice. For most of his career he was based in London, with studios first in Camden then in south London. He staged several prestigious institutional exhibitions in London, Manchester and Glasgow, eventually settling in Hastings Old Town, where he died..
150 by 110mm (6 by 4¼ inches).