Harry Norman Eccleston OBE PRE RWA Hon RBSA Hon NEAC (1923-2010)

Born in Coseley, in the industrial Midlands, he studied at  Bilston School of Art and in 1939  went on to Birmingham College of Art. War service with the Royal Navy from 1942 to 1946 was followed by four years in the School of Engraving at the Royal College of Art. He joined the Bank of England where he became the first full-time artist and designer of banknotes, creating the designs for the first pictorial notes. This was the famous ‘D’ Series, that included the Isaac Newton (£1), the Duke of Wellington (£5), Florence Nightingale (£10), William Shakespeare (£20) and Christopher Wren (£50) issued in 1980 and in circulation until 1981. He was a much loved and respected member of the printmaking fraternity and served as President of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. A retrospective of his work was held at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in 2005.