Date of Birth: 7 December, 1923; † December 2005
Place: Bath, Somerset
Profession: Designer / Academic
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David Bethel served on the council of the RWA between 1994-1997. In 1997 he was elected Senior Executive Vice-President .
His academic career lead him to become Director of Leicester Polytechnic between 1973-1987 but also paved the way for his vital engagement with numerous educational bodies and committees. The most significant of these included his1978-80 Chairmanship of the Committee of Directors of Polytechnics and the Chairmanship on the Advisory Panel to the Minister of State (DES) between 1980-1981 on listing the Architectural Association School of Architecture.
In 1986 he was appointed Chairman of the Planning Committee for Hong Kong Academic Awards and in 1987 he became Chairman of the Chartered Society of Designers' Education and Training Committee. Some of the key awards he has received include admittance to the Freemanship of the City of London in 1976 and his1983 CBE. In 1999 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of the West of England.
David Bethel used wood engraving, gouache, lithography, lino-cuts and oil in his art practice. Stafford City Art Gallery, Leicester City Art Gallery and the Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry have all purchased his work for their public collections. He is also represented in numerous private collections. He had shown his work each year at the RWA Autumn Exhibition since 1975.
Commenting on the influences on his work in the RWA November 2000 questionnaire Bethel commented,
'I am primarily a typographer, bookdesigner and illustrator having learnt the skills required at the then West of England College of Art, Bristol. My main output is autographic prints. The influences on my work stems largely from literature and the English language'
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