Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (1878-1959)

In 1893, at the age of fourteen, Munnings embarked on a six-year apprenticeship with Page Bros., a Norwich firm of lithographers. 'As those years went on my designs must have brought a great deal of business to Page Bros. & Co., Ltd., of Norwich, for I often had more work handed to me than I could cope with ... The design might be for lemonade - chocolates - mustard - whisky - pills - even for poultry foods or election posters ... which meant that I must stir up my imagination and think hard to get an idea - something for printing in three or more colours, something effective and with good spacing' (see A.J. Munnings, An Artist's Life, Bungay, 1950, p. 72).

At the end of his apprenticeship in 1899, Munnings left Page Bros. to set up a studio in Mendham. However, in order to supplement his income as he struggled to establish himself as a painter, he continued to produce commercial designs for firms such as Caley's and Colman's. 'These were done in three colours and black outline as a rule ... I went on for some years with poster work - and liked doing it - in between my more ambitious aspirations ... This side line, bringing riches with it, went on apace, so that I continued dipping into my imagination' (op. cit., pp. 81-82).