Great artists, or their posterity, are accustomed to seeing reproduction of their works and frequently may know that thousands of copies of their paintings may be made. But Barnett Freedman knows that one billion care fully engraved copies of his best known work have been printed and are being circulated throughout the world.
Freedman is the young Jewish artist whose designs for the special Jubilee postage stamps were picked by King George and the Post Office after a competition to select the best design to mark the twenty-fifth year of the King’s reign. Now one billion stamps of his design have been printed for distribution throughout the Empire. He is thirty-three years old, a Russian Jew by origin and a native of London’s teeming East End.
Freedman is almost what might be called a self-made artist. As a child, because of ill-health, he had very little schooling. For four years he lay on his back in London Hospital and it was while he was there, that to relieve the monotony, he learned to draw.
His first job was as an office boy but he soon became a draughtsman. Working days and attending school evenings, he managed to win a scholarship at the Royal College of Art and the attention of Sir William Rothenstein, who encouraged and aided him.
Pictures by Mr. Freedman have been purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum, Ttate Gallery and a number of municipal art galleries. The artist is now working on a huge panel depicting a London East End street. It will be another two years before it is finished. An artist, he is also an accomplished musician. He is married and has one child.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
