Rex Whistler

Rex Whistler (1905–1944), British artist, illustrator, and stage designer. Born in London, his full name was Reginald John Whistler. Educated at Haileybury, he studied at the Slade School of Art, London, and in Rome. Whistler frequently used a style that involved a light-hearted pastiche of 17th- and 18th- century art. He earned a reputation for painting elaborate trompe l’oeils and fanciful murals for interiors. Some of the best-known examples of these are found at Plâs Newydd, on Anglesey, the drawing room at Mottisfont Abbey, Hampshire, (both completed in the 1930s) and the mural entitled In Pursuit of Rare Meats (1926–1927) in the restaurant of the Tate Britain gallery in London. Whistler’s book illustrations include editions of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift and Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. His stage work includes sets for a 1934 production of The Tempest by William Shakespeare and a 1935 production of the opera The Rake's Progress.

When war broke out in 1939 Whistler volunteered for military service and joined the Welsh Guards. He was killed in action in Normandy, while serving as a troop commander in the Guards Armoured Division. His brother Sir Laurence Whistler (1912-2000) was a glass engraver and poet.