The Art of Radio Times

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BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Art of Radio Times

Peter Day salutes the graphic artists whose canvas was Radio Times, which began in 1923.

Peter Day salutes the graphic artists whose canvas was the 'the official organ of the BBC' since September 1923. From 2013.

As the Radio Times reaches its centenary, Peter Day tells the story of the outstanding British graphic artists who made the magazine their canvas. 

The idea that a broadcasting listings magazine should provide the opportunity for writers and artists to produce some of their finest creative work seems perhaps a little far-fetched in the present era of TV listing magazines and supplements. 

Yet Radio Times, which first appeared on bookstands on 28th September 1923, was a great nurturer of artistic talent. 

It started with cartoons - the early magazine loved a gentle 'Punch'-like joke - but soon Radio Times evolved its own individual graphic idiom, using line drawings and motifs, alongside more conventional photographs, to illustrate the imaginative world of radio, in particular. 

In the magazine's heyday, an elegant Eric Fraser cover would regularly grace the bumper-selling Christmas edition, and 1953's Coronation Number became a collector's item with Fraser's simple and noble heraldic theme. 

Alongside Eric Fraser, amongst the great British artists to create some of their most distinguished work for Radio Times were Edward Ardizzone, Val Biro and Victor Reinganum; Bob Sherriffs contributed thumbnail caricatures in the early years and 50 years later Peter Brookes, before becoming a fixture on The Times was a regular contributor. 

In this programme - originally made to mark the 90th anniversary - Peter Day explores the graphic heritage that Radio Times fostered with those who drew and those who commissioned for it. 

Producer: Simon Elmes

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2013.

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