Laurence Fish trained as an illustrator in Max Miller’s studio at publishers Iliffe & Son, specialising in technical subjects - aircraft, yachts, motor cars - and acquiring the meticulous draughtsmanship required for publications like Yachting World, Autocar etc.
During war service with the RAF he was seconded to MI5, Lord Rothschild’s team of bomb disposal experts, as a specialist in explosive devices.
After the war he was a founder member of the Society of Industrial Artists and
Designers, and became internationally known as a painter/illustrator. His work was commissioned and owned by most of the large industrial companies, including Shell, BP, Dunlop, Bristol Aeroplane Company, Hawker Siddeley, BOAC, MG Cars, British Rail and the Indian Air Force.
His covers for Flight International and posters for British Rail, including a winner of the Poster of the Year, are already collector’s items.
He moved on to editorial magazine illustration, particularly figure subjects and from there to a spell in graphic design. Although he had continued to paint and to undertake commissions during this time, he was not able to concentrate on painting full time until the 1980s. Since then his paintings have been exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and at many London and provincial galleries.
His work is held in private collections in this country and the USA.
Exhibitions
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour
