Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) was already well known as a watercolourist, mural painter, designer and printmaker before his untimely death, and it was through wood-engraving that he first became recognised as an artist. He studied under Paul Nash but also found inspiration in earlier practitioners, including Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) and 15th-century German and Flemish masters. This particular image is an alternative version of a plate illustrating April in The Twelve Moneths (sic) commissioned by Robert Gibbings for the Golden Cockerel Press. As it was not for the book, Ravilious enlarged the plate and made small variations to the composition. His strong sense of pattern and design made him one of the most successful and best-loved illustrators of his generation.