Ken Broughton of the Charles Tunnicliffe Society put together this profile of the Anglesey wildlife artist for us.
Charles Tunnicliffe was born and bred on the land and spent the first 19 years of his life in the beautiful countryside of East Cheshire.
After studying at the Macclesfield and Manchester Schools of Art he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London, gaining his teaching diploma and a further scholarship to study in the RCA's new Etching and Engraving School. His excellent work was rewarded in 1923, when he gained his diploma with distinction.
He stayed on in London to develop a career as an etcher and engraver, producing some of his finest etchings during this time. In 1928 he returned to Macclesfield, earning a living mainly from commercial artwork, much of it for the farming industry. He was elected A.R.E. in 1929 and R.E. in 1934.
He was a regular contributor to the Royal Academy and was elected as an associate in 1944, becoming a Royal Academician in 1954. Kyffin Williams encouraged Charles to show his personal reference collection of measured drawings at the R.A. in 1974 - the exhibition was a great success.
Charles and his wife Winifred moved from Cheshire to Anglesey in 1947, to live at Shorelands in Malltraeth, where he lived until his death in 1979. They were both very happy to find such an ideal place for Charles to observe, sketch and paint his favourite subjects - especially the seabirds, wildlife and unspoilt landscape of Anglesey. Shorelands Summer Diary is a record of his observations of Anglesey in 1947; the book contains many wonderful scraperboard illustrations and colour plates of the birdlife he was so pleased to discover - said to be some of his best work.
At Shorelands Charles continued with his scraperboard artwork for commercial advertisements and book illustrations, but as his watercolour skills became more widely known he spent more time creating paintings for Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, the Tryon Gallery, the RSPB and an unrecorded number of private commissions.
He believed strongly in observing and sketching direct from nature, especially around Cob Lake, the Cefni Estuary, South Stack Cliffs, Llyn Coron, Aberfraw, Cemlyn, then when back at Shorelands spending many hours creating a superb set of sketchbooks full of accurate and colourful 'memory drawings'.
These sketchbooks are works of art in themselves and are now kept as part of the Tunnicliffe Collection at Oriel Ynys Môn, along with his measured drawings and other examples of his work - including original wood engraving blocks, etchings, watercolours, oil paintings, pencil drawings, scraperboards and book illustrations.
At Malltraeth Charles found more time to devote to his artwork, getting away from the constant stream of visitors experienced at Macclesfield. Despite this as his fame grew more and more people made their way across Telford's bridge to seek him out and acquire his artwork - he was a very skilled artist in a wide range of media, and many people are of the opinion that he became one of the greatest painters of wildlife, especially birds.
Charles Tunnicliffe was a very talented and special man who worked extremely hard, but he will also be remembered for his exceptional kindness, modesty and generosity.
The RSPB awarded him its Gold Medal in 1975 and he was also honoured with an OBE in 1978.
The artist who brilliantly portrayed Anglesey birdlife.
