Richard Cole's Latest Book

Publication Date: 22nd November 2012.

79 pp, 74 colour illustrations, 43 black and white.

ISBN 978-0-9574260-0-9

Coeur de Lion Press. £15 UK p/p. £3.50

“This book is an ode to his beloved pied-à-terre in which his watercolours, sketches, crayon, oil and woodcuts capture the quirks and eccentricities that make rural French life so beguiling. Mapping out the village sights and introducing us to its most prominent characters, the words and Cole's sketches exude a warmth and humour that will make you fall in love with 'la France profonde' all over again.”
FRANCE Magazine 2013

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When a young British art student first visited in 1962 a small, isolated village nestling in the foothills of the Alps, little did he know that its many charms and intrigues would still inspire him some 50 years later. The village is Saint Geoire en Valdaine in the rural Isère region of France, and the artist is the renowned international political cartoonist and caricaturist Richard Cole. Over the years he has compiled a delightful record of the comings and goings of the village where he made a home and studio in a 16th century forge. In this affectionate tribute, you will find the butcher, the baker and the coffin maker and many other wonderful characters brought vividly to life as the village gradually meets the 21st century.

 

BIOGRAPHY

RICHARD COLE was born in Wimbledon in 1942, the son of an ecclesiastical woodcarver. He studied painting at Wimbledon School of Art. After graduating, he taught for five years before his career took off as a caricaturist, political cartoonist and reportage artist. He has produced profiles and political cartoons for The Times (1973-87) daily TV caricatures for The Daily Express (1978-80), caricatures and illustrations for the books pages of The Daily Telegraph (1988-91) and editorial and political cartoons for The Sunday Times (1973–95 ). Since 1995 he has also drawn for The Sunday Telegraph ( 1995-2001), The Guardian and The Independent. Other work has included illustrations for BBC's Tonight, Newsnight, Panorama and Channel 4 News. In addition he was the European contract artist for CBS News, covering debates in the House of Commons and high profile trials such as that of the Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie in Lyon. In 2004 he was the sole artist chosen to cover the courts martial of the American soldiers prosecuted for torture at Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad, Iraq. He now divides his time between his studios in France and London, continues to illustrate village life and still finds time to pursue his love of jazz.