In 2020 the Society of Wood Engravers celebrated its centenary year. It was founded in 1920 by a group of distinguished artists, including Lucien Pissarro, Gwen Raverat and Eric Gill. The purpose was to encourage the practice and patronage of wood engraving by organising exhibitions, which included both what were thought of as fine art prints, and also illustrations. The role of the Society remains fundamentally unchanged.

Between the wars wood engraving enjoyed what is sometimes referred to as a golden age. In the difficult post-war years all forms of engraving fell out of fashion and the Society ceased to hold annual exhibitions. It was revived in the 1980s by an energetic group of engravers, including Hilary Paynter and Simon Brett, who organised touring exhibitions and who arranged courses for those wishing to take up wood engraving. This was at a time when print-making was being taught much less in art schools, and materials, particularly wood blocks, were becoming difficult to obtain. The practice of wood engraving needed a champion; and the SWE took on that role.

Membership of the Society is by selection at a meeting of its committee. There are also subscribers, who receive its magazine, Multiples, and the Newsletter, and who help with the running of the Society. Its officers are all volunteers. Most of its archives are deposited with Manchester Metropolitan University.

There has always been a great variety to the work in the annual exhibitions. These include prints very much in the tradition of Thomas Bewick (1753-1828), who discovered that by engraving on the end-grain of boxwood it was possible to produce much more detailed work than with wood cuts, for which different tools are used and cutting is along the grain of the wood.

Other engravers work on a larger scale and take their inspiration from the great practitioners of the mid-twentieth century, for example Gertrude Hermes, Eric Ravilious, David Jones, Clare Leighton and Monica Poole. Various print techniques are included in its exhibitions, including linocuts, but it exists to promote wood engraving.

The SWE exists to exalt the skill of the wood engraved print. That is, one engraved, and printed, by hand and by the artist. The use of digital or giclée prints of wood engravings instead of, or as a substitute for, original prints will not be acceptable to the SWE. The Society fights to support the dedication shown by wood engravers to this time-honoured technique and it is expected that all members will respect this when showing their work.

The Society of Wood Engravers has been remarkably resilient during the pandemic and has been marvellously supported by galleries which show the annual exhibition. It continues to attract talented young engravers, encouraging the best to become Members, and it welcomes new subscribers.