Evolver 149

Headlines May and June 2026 4 Lady Chatterley's Cover: The Book Designs of Stephen Russ Until 30th May Chippenham Museum will be casting a spotlight on Stephen Russ, a designer, illustrator and teacher whose postwar book designs grace bookshelves across the country. This is an opportunity to celebrate and rediscover the often overlooked design medium of the book cover, which had the power to bring contemporary art into every home. Educated at the Royal College of Art in the 1930s Russ became the head of printed textile design at the Bath Academy of Art in Corsham. His love and talent for surface pattern design is apparent in many of his book covers. From the 1940s to 1970s Russ produced dozens of dust jacket designs for various publishing houses and authors. From standout jackets for Graham Greene fi rst editions at Bodley Head to showcasing his versatility at Collins, with designs ranging from nature books to the famous Collins Crime Club series. He is perhaps best known for his work for Penguin, designing covers for their main orange series which had revolutionised publishing with inexpensive, accessible paperbacks, as well as their lesser-known series of music scores and the highly collectible Penguin Poets series. The phoenix motif he designed for DH Lawrence’s controversial Lady Chatterley’s Lover , would become famous during the 1960 obscenity trial, appearing prominently in the subsequent marketing of the book that led to it becoming a best seller. As well as this largely overlooked contribution Russ made to postwar design, the exhibition will look at his thirty-year career as a tutor. His work is being brought to life at Chippenham Museum with the generous support of the Russ family alongside loans from the Penguin Archive and University of Bristol. Suzy Rushbrook Follow evolvermagazine on Instagram ‘LADY CHATTERLEY’S COVER’ Until 30 May Chippenham Museum, 9 - 10 Market Place, CHIPPENHAM, SN15 3HF. Monday - Saturday 10am - 4pm. 01249 705020 / chippenham.gov.uk. *EVOLVER_149_SB.qxp_Evolver_2025 14/04/2026 20:07 Page 4