Biography
Bernard Rice (b. Innsbruck, Austria 1900 - d. 1998) studied at art school in Innsbruck and came to England at the age of 19 and studied art at the Westminster School of Art where his peers included David Jones and Clifford Webb, before attending the Royal Academy Schools (1921-22). He moved to Yugoslavia for four years and returnied to England in 1926 to study etching at the Royal College of Art. He was a wood engraver, painter, sculptor, and designer of stained glass windows. Ric always made his own blocks and often experimented with different woods, engraving on the cross section of a soft wood block as an alternative to hardwood. Believing in the integrity of his materials, he often looked to the blocks themselves for inspiration. So unusual was his technique that often his finished prints more resembled mezzotints than wood block prints. He spent much of his life travelling, and for ten years lived in Cairo teaching engraving and etching techniques. Examples of his work are in the collections of the Hunterian, Glasgow and V&A, London. He had a show at Blond Fine Art, London in 1996.
