The Laughter and the Urn: The Life of Rex Whistler

Artist: Rex Whistler 
Author: Laurence Whistler 
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson 
Date: 1985 
Condition: A first edition hardback copy of this book, with original unclipped dust wrapper, the whole in very good condition, apparently very lightly read

A biography of this short-lived but very gifted artist, written by his younger brother. Whistler was only thirty-nine when killed in WWII, and the body of work he left behind is rather less well-known than it deserves.

Part of the gilded world of the inter-war years, Whistler covered several different media, working in painting, illustration, murals, theatre design and portraiture and this comprehensive memoir makes a very good starting point for anyone looking into his life and art.