Ealing earned its label ‘Queen of The Suburbs’ back in Victorian times when it was celebrated as a semi-rural retreat for wealthy Londoners. The description meant that Ealing had the best of all worlds; it was near London and easily reached by excellent railway facilities, but it was also close to the countryside.

The phrase is still used today and is the title that Gail Brodholt has given to her latest print set in Ealing Common tube station, a 1930s building which features a tall heptagonal ticket hall with glazed screens to all sides. Gail told us a bit about the print:

“With regards to “Queen of Suburbs” I’ve always been very drawn to the tube stations designed by Holden etc in the 1920s and 30s because of their geometric shape and strong line. I’ve already done a linocut of Balham and Tooting Broadway – very similar architecturally to Ealing Common. I also like the idea of people coming and going on their travels so a tube station ticket halls fit the bill.

The linocut consists of four blocks starting with the darkest colour. I try to get a strong sense of light because Ealing Common is unusual in that there is external light coming through the back windows as it is over-ground.”

The print is exclusively for sale with For Arts Sake and can been seen as part of our current joint exhibition by Gail Brodholt and Louise Davies and is of course proving very popular with Ealing residents.