Skip navigation

Main menu

  • What's on
  • Art & Artists
    • The Collection
      Artists
      Artworks
      Art by theme
      Media
      Videos
      Podcasts
      Short articles
      Learning
      Schools
      Art Terms
      Tate Research
      Art Making
      Create like an artist
      Kids art activities
      Tate Draw game
  • Visit
  • Shop
Become a Member
  • DISCOVER ART
  • ARTISTS A-Z
  • ARTWORK SEARCH
  • ART BY THEME
  • VIDEOS
  • ART TERMS
  • SCHOOLS
  • TATE KIDS
  • RESEARCH
  • Tate Britain
    Tate Britain Free admission
  • Tate Modern
    Tate Modern Free admission
  • Tate Liverpool + RIBA North
    Tate Liverpool + RIBA North Free admission
  • Tate St Ives
    Tate St Ives Ticket or membership card required
  • FAMILIES
  • ACCESSIBILITY
  • SCHOOLS
  • PRIVATE TOURS
Tate Logo
Become a Member
  • Art and Artists
  • Tate Archive
  • Collections of Digitised Archive Items
  • Seventy five drawings and sketchbooks by James Boswell, the graphic artist, illustrator and painter

Seventy five drawings and sketchbooks by James Boswell, the graphic artist, illustrator and painter

1938–59

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest

Availaible online are all of the sketchbook created by James Boswell. These sketchbooks illustrate many of Boswell's interests and activities. The earliest books contain designs for some of his lithographs and there is a series of war sketchbooks covering the period Boswell was in Scotland (1941-1942) and Iraq and Malta (1942-1944) serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps. His political affiliation shows clearly in many of the wartime drawings where the officers are frequently drawn with bulls' heads and the common soldiers are more sympathetically portrayed. The Sussex coast features prominently in the drawings as do scenes of London life, especially street markets. His interest in Punch and Judy and the theatre is also apparent and many of the post-war sketchbooks form a record of his travels in Bucharest (1953), Paris (1953), Chartres (1956), Dieppe (1958) and Marseille (1959).

Details of the remainder of the collection can be found on the Archive catalogue.

Collection Owner
James Boswell 1906–1971
Collection
Tate Archive
Acquisition
Presented by Ruth Boswell, the artist's widow in 1982
Reference
TGA 8224

48 objects in this collection

  • Seventy five drawings and sketchbooks by James Boswell, the graphic artist, illustrator and painter

    48 Objects

Title
Seventy five drawings and sketchbooks by James Boswell, the graphic artist, illustrator and painter
Date
1938–59
Description
Availaible online are all of the sketchbook created by James Boswell. These sketchbooks illustrate many of Boswell's interests and activities. The earliest books contain designs for some of his lithographs and there is a series of war sketchbooks covering the period Boswell was in Scotland (1941-1942) and Iraq and Malta (1942-1944) serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps. His political affiliation shows clearly in many of the wartime drawings where the officers are frequently drawn with bulls' heads and the common soldiers are more sympathetically portrayed. The Sussex coast features prominently in the drawings as do scenes of London life, especially street markets. His interest in Punch and Judy and the theatre is also apparent and many of the post-war sketchbooks form a record of his travels in Bucharest (1953), Paris (1953), Chartres (1956), Dieppe (1958) and Marseille (1959).

Details of the remainder of the collection can be found on the Archive catalogue.
Reference
TGA 8224

Showing 41–48 of 48 objects

Sketchbook, with ‘Seaside, interiors, figures’ on the spine

James Boswell
date not known
View by appointment

Sketchbook, with ‘Illustrations of ‘Alice through the looking glass’ and ‘Lady Godiva’ on the spine

James Boswell
date not known
View by appointment

Sketchbook, with ‘Anatomy’ on the spine

James Boswell
[c.1941–5]
View by appointment

Sketchbook, with ‘Italy’ on the spine

James Boswell
date not known
View by appointment

Notebook, labelled ‘Biographies - writings’ on the spine

James Boswell
date not known
View by appointment

Sketchbook, with ‘Sketches-Writings’ on the spine

James Boswell
1944
View by appointment

Sketchbook, with ‘Leeds, Portsmouth, London’ on the spine

James Boswell
date not known
View by appointment

Sketchbook, with ‘Writings and Sketches’ on the spine

James Boswell
date not known
View by appointment
Artwork
Close

Join in

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Sign up to emails

Sign up to emails

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Tate’s privacy policy

About

  • About us
  • Our collection
  • Terms and copyright
  • Governance
  • Picture library
  • ARTIST ROOMS
  • Tate Kids

Support

  • Tate Collective
  • Members
  • Patrons
  • Donate
  • Corporate
  • My account
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Contact
© The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery, 2025
All rights reserved