ABSTRACT
Graphic artist, writer, painter, creator of Surrealist assemblages. Born in Ilkley, he lived in Leeds for many years. He left school at fourteen and was a factory worker for twenty-five years. Discovering Surrealist poetry in the mid-1940s, he was inspired to take up painting. He lectured at Bradford College of Art and Leeds Polytechnic. From 1941 he worked in partnership with Eric Thacker, writing and illustrating two 'fantastic novels', Musrum and Wintersol (1968, 1971, Cape). Together they produced the Wokker cartoon strip published 1971-2. Earnshaw's graphic works include Seven Secret Alphabets (1972, Cape). He exhibited and was a prize-winner at CEMA, Belfast (1962) and subsequently exhibited at venues including Lane Gallery and Cartwright Hall, Bradford; Galerie l'Escalier, Brussels; the Victoria and Albert Museum; Crawshaw Gallery, London. He participated in the Surrealist Festival, Exeter (1967) and at 'Homage to Apollinaire', ICA (1968). Solo shows were held at Leeds Institute (1966); Angela Flowers Gallery (1972 and 1989); Exe Gallery, Exeter (1973)' Graves Gallery, Sheffield 58(1988); and a retrospective at Leeds City Art Gallery (1987). His work is in the collections of the Arts Council and Leeds City Art Gallery. His witty assemblages are often made from found objects. Raider's Bread (1979) incorporates a lump of bread-shaped flint and a bread board. Defeat and Mockery in a Wooden World (1987) comprises several mousetraps in a box frame.
