Would you consider going to an exhibition of school prints? If you are tempted to rule it out, perhaps you may think again when I mention artists involved: John Nash, Eric Ravilious, John Piper Felixs Topolski, L.S. Lowry, Henry Moore, George Braque, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Interested? So was Clico Kingsbury, who runs the Dadbrook Gallery, in Cuddington, near Thame. She was inspired by a book called The School Prints, A Romantic Project, by Ruth Artmonsky. It turns out to be more than a romantic project, indeed a brave one.

With war waging around them, two young idealists named Derek and Brenda Rawnsley hatched the idea of commissioning artists to produce prints for junior schools. They wanted to bring cutting edge contemporary art into the classroom for children who would never be exposed to it in a gallery.

Derek began his ‘Picture Hire’ scheme for schools before the war. He met and married Brenda Hugh Jones in 1939. Brenda was born in Cowley in 1916, although her father was part of the British Protectorate in Egypt. The couple had little time together because he was killed in 1943. Brenda carried on working with 201 squadron and on secret missions before returning to England and taking up Derek’s business. She went into primary schools not with reproductions but with ‘original’ lithographs commissioned from artists; her business was called School Prints Ltd.

You can see for yourself at the Dadbrook Gallery. Clico says: “Amazingly, a full 60 years after they were produced, a cache of a number of these wonderful original lithographs have been discovered in mint condition. They will be on view and for sale at the gallery with prices starting from £120.”

Author and broadcaster Peter Ashley will share his enthusiasm for the School Prints series and the stories behind them at a talk at the gallery on Friday, May 22, at 7pm. Tickets cost £20. You can contact the gallery on the numbers below to make a reservation.

Clico hopes the idea behind the original project could be revived in a different form to suit the 21st century.

“Why not reinterpret the Rawnsleys’ philanthropic idea and bring it up to date? Although today good quality reproductions from the masters are readily available, what about local artists?

“They could be invited to show their original work in classrooms and encouraged to talk about it. There is an extraordinary breadth and depth of talent throughout the county as Artweeks proves year after year.”

The exhibition runs from May 15-24, daily 11am-6pm. Dadbrook Gallery, Dadbrook House, Cuddington, Bucks HP18 0AG, tel: 01844 292459 or mobile: 0777 6201062, email: info@dadbrookgallery.co.uk www.dadbrookgallery.co.uk