Walter
Bayes
was born in 1869.
Born into a family of artists, Bayes studied at the Westminster
School of Art. By the beginning of the 20th century he had
established himself as one of Britain's leading illustrators and had
exhibited several paintings at the Royal Academy.
Bayes was member of the Allied Artists Association
and the Camden Town Art Group. He was also the art critic of The
Athenaeum (1906-1916).
In 1917 Charles Masterman,
head of the government's War
Propaganda Bureau (WPB)
recruited Bayes to paint pictures of the Home Front. This included
The
Underworld,
a painting of the Elephant and Castle Underground Station.
After the Armistice Bayes became head
of the Westminster
School of Art
and held the post for sixteen. Walter
Bayes died
in 1956.
Water Bayes, The Underworld (1917)
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