This pastel was done from a sketch which Edward did in late 1940 of some homeless men in an air-raid shelter in the early days of the Blitz. The emotion of the work remains powerfully relevant today, seventy-five years after it was created.

In September 1988 Lintas hosted an Exhibition in London at Agnews, which was a retrospective of selected work of some of the artists who had worked at Lintas between 1930 and 1950. It was entitled "Beyond the Horizon" and included works by Edward Bishop, Ivor Cooper, John Passmore, Keith Vaughan and Reg Jenkins. Edward’s five exhibits included "The Dispossessed : Tramps in Shelter" and "Still life with Lupins".

In various ways black and white photographs of "The Dispossessed : Tramps in Shelter" can be equally, if not more, powerful than this coloured pastel original.

"Evening by the Serpentine, No.1" was one of Edward’s first post-war oil paintings.

This work was the first in a series of paintings of the Serpentine at dawn and dusk painted by him during the following four decades. He liked to visit the Serpentine, particularly in the evening after work, to watch, enjoy and sketch the sunset.

The tranquility of the Serpentine depicted in this particular painting contrasts starkly with the turmoil and violence which had been raging in Europe for the previous five years.

The trees in the middle-right of the picture almost merge together into a blue-grey abstract and draw attention to the single swan at the water’s edge.

"Notting Hill Gate, District Station" was Edward’s second major painting on a railway station theme, following "Sloane Square Station"(1950), which had been sold at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1950 to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

The atmosphere of "Notting Hill Gate, District Station" captures certain facets of London life in the early 1950s.

Subsequent works by Edward on a railway station theme include the pastel "South Kensington Station Buildings"(c.1957), which was shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1957, "Night Train to Camden"(1965) and "Kings Cross Station Hotel (before the fire)"(1979).

Edward was doing many drawings and paintings of his wife in 1957 and 1958. "Celeste resting" pictures her sleeping on a divan at their home in Bolton Gardens.

The simple background focuses attention on the sleeping subject.

"Celeste resting" was shown in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1960.

"Celeste sewing" was painted on 5th April 1958 and pictures the artist’s wife in the living room at their home in Bolton Gardens, Chelsea.

The tranquil atmosphere of the room pervades the painting; the subject appears to be concentrating intently on her sewing almost oblivious to the fact she is sitting for the artist. "Celeste sewing" was shown in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1960.

Another painting with a similar palette was "Celeste at Bolton Gardens"(May 1958).

"Night Train to Camden" is another in Edward’s series of oil paintings of the Camden Town area done between 1961 and 1974.

This nocturne combines his enduring interest in the Camden Town area with his fondness for painting different types of urban light at night. In "Night Train to Camden" it is interesting to note how the artist has treated the light from three different light sources, namely the light from the neon street lights, from the crescent moon and from the night train itself.

The title "Charmed Magic Casements" was derived from John Keats’ poem "Ode to a Nightingale" written in 1819:-

"Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird!
    No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
    In ancient days by emperor and clown;
The same that oft-times hath
    Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn."

It portrays a romantic mid-summer evening with a woman standing on her balcony looking at the stars or perhaps listening to the nightingale’s song ;the light of the moon illuminates her bedroom, casting long shadows. The painting also includes a small still-life in the foreground. Interestingly the outline composition of the painting on the wall resembles "Winter sunset over the Serpentine".

"Charmed Magic Casements" is one of Edward’s few paintings with a blue/green palette dominating, along with "Balcony in the Sun"(1984).

In 1969 he also painted a smaller painting on a similar romantic theme entitled "One Summer Night".

Edward would take daily walks on Hampstead Heath near his home, particularly enjoying the stroll to the Vale of Health and the ponds.

His other paintings of Hampstead Heath include "Woodland Cottage"(1978) "Fisherman, Hampstead Ponds"(1983) and "Kenwood House from Hampstead"(1986).

"Kings Cross Station Hotel (before the fire)" incorporates several of Edward’s favourite lifetime themes, namely night illuminations, London railway stations and the effect of light reflected on wet streets and pavements. It was his second painting of Kings Cross Station, following "Kings Cross Railway Arches"(1961).

The painting hints at the loneliness of the elderly man crossing the road in this busy area; the isolation of the individual surrounded by others in an urban environment.

After the fire at Kings Cross Station in 1987, Edward changed the title of this painting.

Like many of his Camden Town and other London paintings, "Kings Cross Station Hotel (before the fire)" is a permanent and enduring record of how one area of London used to be in the past.

"The Red Umbrella" is set in a café or restaurant and features a young woman waiting for her dinner partner to arrive.

The simplicity of the still life on the table draws ones attention to the figure and to her red parasol. This painting is Edward’s second major oil featuring an impressive umbrella, following "Woman with Parasol"(1955), which was set in Bolton Gardens.

"The Red Umbrella" contains much of the furniture from Edward’s home in East Heath Road, including the Victorian oil lamp and cabinet. The painting also includes a distant self-portrait in the long mirror.

Before painting "The Red Umbrella", Edward undertook a series of rough pastel studies and then smaller oil paintings, including "Girl with a Victorian Lamp"(1980), on the subject to refine the idea to exactly what he wanted before executing the final work.

The richness of the crimson palette of "The Red Umbrella" follows that in "Walham Green"(1952) and was later seen in "The Studio Club remembered" painted two years later.

Edward first developed his interest in Sloane Square in the late 1940’s, in particular how the area was rebuilding after the damage inflicted by the War. "Sloane Square, Christmas Time" was Edward’s last major painting of the Sloane Square area[, following "Sloane Square Station" in 1950 and several other works.The painting also continues Edward’s tradition of painting major London landmarks at night and studying the effects of neon light and illumination on the chosen buildings and streets, particularly after a rain-shower, a theme previously explored in "Essoldo Cinema, Chelsea"(1950), "The Princes Theatre"(1958) and "Piccadilly Circus"(1959).

The impressionist style of the painting emphasises contrasts in both light and colour.

The rich colours of the Sloane Square Christmas illuminations perfectly evoke the atmosphere and enjoyment of the festive season.

(photograph courtesy of Manya Igel Fine Arts Limited)

"The Studio Club" is a fond reminiscing of that Club in Swallow Street, Piccadilly where Edward spent so many pleasant evenings in the early 1950s and where he met his wife Celeste. The Studio Club, which had been founded in 1915, had the motto Dum vivimus vivamus ("Whilst we live let us live") and boasted former members including Sir Alfred Munnings, C.R.W.Nevinson, Jacob Epstein and Augustus John.

The bohemian décor and the theme evenings at the Studio Club provided numerous subjects for sketches and paintings. Edward did several paintings of the Studio Club over a thirty year period, including "The Studio Club" and "Mexican Night at The Studio Club".

The atmosphere and rich crimson palette of this painting has affinities with "The Red Umbrella", painted two years previously.

Edward had started to spend more time drawing and painting Hampstead subjects since giving up his Chelsea studio in 1975.

"Fisherman, Hampstead Ponds" was one of the series of paintings he did of the Hampstead area, in particular Hampstead Heath and also some of the houses and streets around Hampstead Village, between the mid-1970’s and the mid-1980s.

He was intrigued by the lonely fisherman patiently waiting for his sport and had previously painted solitary figures fishing in "Lone fisherman at Dunwich, Suffolk"(1977) and "Fisherman on a windy beach"(1977), both of which were based on sketches done on Dunwich beach during the family holiday there.

The green palette and willow trees portrayed in "Fisherman, Hampstead Ponds" are reminiscent of the Edward’s "Green Park" paintings in the early 1950s and also "Early Spring, Regents Park"(c.1974).

"The Star and Garter, No.2" was the second major study of The Star and Garter, following the first painting "The Star and Garter, Putney", which had been done over thirty years earlier in 1952.

It was a particular feature of Edward’s work that he when he became intrigued by certain favourite themes, such as his Thames paintings, he liked to revisit the subject after the passage of some considerable time and undertake new paintings of the subject.

It is interesting to compare the blue palette of "The Star and Garter, No.2" with the crimson sunset seen in the 1952 painting.

Before painting "The Star and Garter, No.2" he undertook a series of small oils on the subject, some of which were separately exhibited and survive to this day.

"The Star and Garter, No.2" was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in 1984.

In the 1980s Edward did a series of five large paintings combining the themes of room interior and summer window showing a balcony of flowers in full bloom. The first and second of these were "Summer Balcony" (1982) and "Last Summer at the Cottage"(1984), which were both exhibited at Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, in 1982 and 1984 respectively, and also reproduced in the Royal Academy Illustrated Catalogue of those years. "The Blue Parasol" is the third in this series and is based on the living room at East Heath Road and set in summer with a balcony full of flowers.

Like "The Red Umbrella", a brightly coloured parasol catches the eye.

Occasionally Edward would also do further work on a painting well after it was first painted; "The Blue Parasol" is an example of this as he did further work on this painting in November 1985.

"The Blue Parasol" was exhibited at the New English Art Club in 1988.

(Photograph courtesy of The British Petroleum Company p.l.c.)

"Balcony in the Sun" is the fourth of the five oil paintings Edward painted in the mid-1980’s combining the themes of room interior and summer window showing a balcony in full bloom in summer.

This painting and the second "Balcony in the Sun" painted three years later are both based on the second bedroom at East Heath Road, looking out on to the balcony in summertime. The sunlight in the room and on the balcony and the abundance of flowers in bloom capture many of the simple joys and harmonies of summer.

This first "Balcony in the Sun" was exhibited in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in 1985, where it was purchased by The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and now hangs in its executive residence at 22 Hill Street, Mayfair.

"Summer Flowers" is another in the series of oils that Edward painted of summer flowers in the mid-1980s.

Like "Meadowsweet in a Victorian Jug" and "Vase with Flowers"(1985), "Summer Flowers" was painted in his studio at East Heath Road; in each case furniture and possessions in the studio at that time can clearly be seen in the background of the paintings.

The vase also featured in several paintings by Celeste.

During the 1970s and in the mid-late 1980s Edward did a series of further paintings on the self-portrait in a café theme, first explored in "Chelsea Café"(1947) over forty years previously.

This late-mid 1980s series included "Self portrait in a Café, No.2"(1986-1988) and "Man in a Café"(1987), which was sold at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1987 and reproduced in the Illustrated Catalogue of that year.

As in "Chelsea Café", the artist’s self-portrait in "Self-portrait in a Café, No.2" is seen via his reflection of the mirror above the chiffonier.

An example of the 1970s series, "Self portrait in the studio"(1975), is inset to illustrate the development of the theme.

This was the second of Edward’s major paintings done in the mid-1980s of the second bedroom and balcony at East Heath Road in summer and entitled "Balcony in the Sun". It is interesting to compare the predominantly green palette of this painting with the previous "Balcony in the Sun" which was dominated by blues.

As with the previous paintings in this series, the sunlight in the room and on the balcony and abundance of colourful summer flowers in bloom capture many of the joys and pleasures of summer.

This painting was shown in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in 1992.