Exhibition: The Humour of Heath Robinson

The First Aero Wedding, 1917 Image: © The Heath Robinson Museum

The priest stands on the weathervane atop a thin, tapering church spire. He looks over his glasses to the groom, sitting in his frock coat in a small, single-engine aeroplane. Opposite, in her pink biplane, the bride holds her bouquet. Behind them, guests gather in more planes. A large pot of rice is balanced on a wing.

Welcome to the land of William Heath Robinson and the First Aero Wedding, on show at an exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth.

In his work, fun poked is at the self-important, wry observations are made, contemporary life is satirised and, as in the Aero Wedding, serious-looking people participate in absurd activities.

Heath Robinson, born in north London on 31 May 1872, trained at the Royal Academy Schools and wanted to be a landscape painter. To earn a living, he illustrated magazines and books and became one of the leading illustrators of his age. However, it was his cartoons and contraptions that made him a household name.

His artistic skill is evident. The Times in 1945 referred to "the fineness of Heath Robinson's craftsmanship - the clean and firm fluency of his pen line and the quality of his watercolour washes. Those who have known his work only in reproduction will be surprised at its technical excellence."

During the first and second world wars, Heath Robinson's cartoons raised morale and brought relief to civilians and servicemen alike. In the battlefield, the enemy is shown deploying siphons of laughing gas to overcome British troops; on the home front, a complex factory system for 'doubling Gloucester cheese' eked out rations.

The interwar years brought new ways of living, and his work included complex ways of how to manage without servants, make the most of the limited space in flats and dance to the Savoy Orpheans music broadcast without disturbing the neighbours downstairs.

Like today's silent disco, it involved wearing headphones, plus some ingenious sound insulation with mattresses and hot water bottles. There are sets of headphones above the image playing music of the era (and other sounds!), so bring some friends along and recreate it.

As well as the silent disco, Heath Robinson anticipated chaos theory, showing the consequences of falling toothbrush on Christmas celebrations and 'How the thoughtlessness of a butterfly seriously affected a bishop's corn'.

Animations and stills, include images from How to Live in a Flat, are projected on to a wall.

The Humour of Heath Robinson runs at the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner, NW London, until 4 September 2022. Tickets are £6/concessions and include entry to the permanent display.

LINK

Heath Robinson Museum - www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org/