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George Biles

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George Biles (1 July 1900 – 7 December 1987) was a British sign painter and lettering artist who worked in Bridport, Dorset, in South West England. Biles ran a signpainting business in Bridport from 1924 to a few days before his death aged 87, and painted a large number of pub signs, murals, theatre backcloths, charters and other work.

Painted signs are a long-standing tradition of British pubs, but whereas most pub sign painters are poorly documented or anonymous, Biles' work received considerable attention by the end of his very long career, with a profile on television news, in a book on pubs and in German media. After his death, one of his main clients, the Bridport brewery Palmers, preserved 65 of his signs in storage and his friend and fellow signpainter Ken Allen saved the contents of his studio, meaning that his career is well documented.

Life and career

Born Frederick George Allison Biles, Biles grew up in Allington, Dorset and began an apprenticeship to a local sign writer aged 14 before setting up his own business, first called Cast and Biles and later Signs Service Studios, in East Street, Bridport. He preferred to paint on marine plywood. He conducted research into historically appropriate details and clothing for his signs, such as finding an old photograph of a monument before it was moved. Whipple and Anderson, who profiled him in a book on pubs, commented that he used "a delicate, subdued style...his signs often contain subtle ocean blues and carefully executed grey or cloudy skies". When painting a two-sided pub sign he painted a different design on each side. Also surviving from his work are theatre wall murals in the Bridport Electric Palace theatre and backcloths for local theatre and pantomime performances. A 1932 profile covering his Electric Palace murals commented that he used "pastoral scenes painted in pastel shades". By the end of his career he was nicknamed "The Professor".

As Biles and his wife Hilda May Kirk (m. 1926) did not have children and Hilda predeceased him, his studio contents were assigned by his executors to friend Ken Allen after his death, who preserved them. One of his main clients, Palmers Brewery, preserved many of his signs done for its pubs, such as when pubs closed. A first full exhibition on Biles' work took place in Bridport Arts Centre, Bridport Museum and other local venues in August 2024. The exhibition was curated by painter Jemma Thompson, who studied with one of Biles' apprentices.

References

  1. ^ Displays from 2024 exhibition, curated by Jemma Thompson
  2. "George Biles – King of Signwriters Project". Bridport Town Council. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  3. "Retrospective for Master Sign Painter – the remarkable talents of Bridport's George Biles". The Marshwood Vale Magazine. August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  4. ^ "The Art of the Modern Signwriter". Town and Country News. 8 July 1932.
  5. Bridport Royal Charter Pageant Souvenir Programme. 1953.
  6. ^ "A treat from the archives: a short film about George Biles, who painted Palmers Brewery's distinctive pub signs for most of the 20th century". Facebook. Palmers Brewery. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  7. "George, 81, paints a special greeting". Dorset Evening Echo. 2 October 1981.
  8. ^ Rüdenauer, Christa B.; Chittock, Brian (26 January 1980). "Über englischen Wirtshaustüren Stopp-Schilder". IWZ: Illustrierte Wochenzeitung. No. 4. pp. 8–10.
  9. ^ Whipple, Andy; Anderson, Rob (1985). The English Pub. pp. 66–68.
  10. "Schilder erzählen Geschichten". Micky Maus Magazin. 22 June 1974. pp. 16–17.
  11. "Switzerland assignment for George". Bridport and Lyme Regis News. 9 January 1987. p. 14.
  12. "Do you remember: Relive the history of Bridport and Lyme Regis". Bridport News. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  13. "A history of Bridport hospitality". The Dorset Magazine. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  14. "About". Electric Palace Theatre, Bridport. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  15. "Palace". Theatres Trust. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  16. "Show scenery needs a new home". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  17. Jones, Andy (16 June 2024). "Bridport town sign painter George Biles exhibition". Bridport & Lyme Regis News. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  18. "George Biles: King of Signwriters Exhibition". Bridport Arts Centre. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  19. Thompson, Jemma. "Another amazing week at the George Biles King of Signwriter's Exhibition". Instagram. Jemma Thompson Artist Signwriter. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  20. "Love Letters". Bridport Radio. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  21. "60 second interview: Jemma Thompson". View From Online. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
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