User:JonPoley/Henry

Henry Saxon (16 August 1918 – 3 October 2005) was an artist specialising in miniature illuminated writing. His paintings typically comprised verse or biblical text set in fine borders with one or more inset illustrative pictures.

History
Henry Saxon was born in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1918 and as he grew up his grandfather encouraged him to follow his artistic talent. At the age of fourteen he joined the Manchester School of Art and studied art and, in particular, calligraphy.

At 21, Henry joined the Army Medical Corps, married at 23 and lived in Africa until the end of the war with his wife Agnes. In 1940 he produced the illustrations for a medical text on radiography.

After the war his first child Moira was born and he returned to work in the printing industry where he was introduced to John Spencer, Hon. RMS, who introduced him to miniature art and his niche speciality of miniature illuminated calligraphy started.

In 1985 he was elected to Associate Membership of the Royal Miniature Society after a number of years exhibiting with them and also helping with the production of their magazine. Two years later he was awarded the prestigious Gold Memorial Bowl. He has also won the Gordon Drummond and the Fairman members subject miniature awards, is a founder member of the Hilliard society of miniaturists and was elected as a Signature member of the Miniature Artists of America winning awards in Georgia and Florida.

Paintings
Through his life, Henry produced many hundreds of miniatures. The calligraphy is typically exquisite, normally of poems or passages of scripture and beautifully set.

The work starts with the draft text using a fine lead pencil, sanded to an even sharper point. Then with specially adapted pens, ground down by hand to produce a fine tip the text is completed and any gold leaf brushed onto the required sections. Then the borders and any paintings are incorporated. .

"Treasure" features on the cover of 'The Magic of Miniatures' with Psalm 121 and "A Poem" by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice inside.