Although Humphrey Spender is best known for his work as a painter and photographer, he also excelled at lithography. He exhibited regularly at the Redfern Gallery from 1943. Spender originally studied as an architect before specialising in documentary photography and photo-journalism. After serving in the Tank Corps during the Second World War, he worked in a wide variety of media. Alongside lithography and photography, he did design work for textiles, wallpaper and carpet, and completed a number of mural commissions. Spender taught at the Textile School at the Royal College of Art and received the Council of Industrial Design ‘Design Award’ four times.