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The death yesterday of Ken Howard OBE RA PPNEAC ROI RBSA RWA HonRBA has
been announced.
He celebrated his 22nd wedding anniversary on Friday 9th September with his partner Dora
Bertolutti in Mousehole in Cornwall. Sadly his life ended at Truro Hospital on
Sunday 11th September 2022, age 89, following a very bad fall at his
home in Mousehole in Cornwall.
Anybody who has been visiting exhibitions in London over the last two decades
will have come across the artwork of Ken Howard on multiple occasions. Despite
being represented by a leading art gallery in Bond Street gallery he regularly
exhibited with art societies – most of which he was a member of.
For me painting is about three things. It is about revelation,
communication and celebration. By revelation I mean giving people a way
of seeing, revealing the world around them in a way they have never seen
before, opening their eyes.Ken Howard website
He also taught and mentored a number of artists – many of whom are active in
art societies and doing well! (see the end of this post for some of their tributes)
 |
| Self Portrait with Merida (oil on canvas) by Ken Howard |
- the timeline of his life
- awards and honours
- publications about him and his work – and by him
- membership of art societies
- commissions
- art collections
I’ll add in links to other obituaries and tributes about him at the end as I find them.
Ken Howard – a timeline
Early Life
-
1932 Ken Howard born in London. He lived in Alder Grove, Cricklewood and
went to Kilburn Grammar School - 1953-55 National Service in the Royal Marines
Art Education
- 1949-53 Studied at the Hornsey School of Art
As a student he participated regularly in the Hampstead open air art
exhibitions and was commissioned to paint watercolours of local buildings
and features including Keats House and Whitestone Pond.
- 1955-58 Studied at the Royal College of Art
- 1958-59 British Council Scholarship to Florence
Appointments
-
1973 and 1979 – Appointed official artist in Ireland by the Imperial War
Museum - 2004-2012 – Elected Professor of Perspective at the Royal Academy Schools
- 2007 – Appointed Freeman of the City of London, Liveryman Painter Stainers
- 2017 – Appointed a Patron of the Turner’s House Trust
Notable Exhibitions
- 1952 First exhibited at the Royal Academy
- 1959 First exhibited at the New English Art Club
-
First exhibited at
Richard Green
at 147 New Bond Street
.jpg)
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Ken Howard painting June Mendoza painting Ken by June Mendoza OBE RP ROI |
Art Societies
One of the notable aspects of Ken Howard was his wide and active involvement
with various art societies. At one point he was a member of a large number
by competitive entry and election. Others elected him as an Honorary Member as they liked his work so much!
- 1962 Elected member of the New English Art Club
- 1966 Elected member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
- 1979 Elected member of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours
- 1981 Elected member of the Royal West of England Academy
- 1983 Associate Member of the Royal Academy
- 1988 Honorary Member of the Royal Society of British Artists
- Honorary Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
- 1991 Member of the Royal Academy
- 1998-2005 – President of the New English Art Club
- 2006 – Elected fellow of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
- 2008 – Honorary Member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art
Ken Howard was considered by many to be an old favourite and stalwart of
more than one society within the the world of the Federation of British
Artists.
Latterly he began to become a Judge of many of the art competitions that
such member artists entered.
I’m beginning to think that the successors to Ken Howard in terms of
scope and style – are now outpainting Ken Howard….
but it took a very long time before that happened!
(Some of his) Prizes, Awards and Honours
- First prize Lord Mayor’s Art Award
- 1969 First prize Arundel Art Centre
- 1978 Prize winner John Moores Exhibition
- Prize winner John Laing Exhibition
- 1982 First prize Hunting Group Awards
- Prize winner Royal West of England Academy
- 1985 Critics’ prize, Sparkasse Karlsruhe
- 1986 Prize winner New English Art Club Centenary Exhibition
- 2001 – Critics’ prize New English Art Club 2001
- 2010 – Awarded OBE for services to Art in the Queen’s Birthday Honours
Ken Howard – Publications
Ken Howard is referenced in many publications – books, art journals and newspapers – on the topic of painting. This list is from his little bit out of date website (with a few additions by me). I own some of them as I found his approach to painting very enlightening when I first started to learn more about art.
He also produced a number of DVDs.
He also produced a number of DVDs.
Books of Paintings and Practice – about or by Ken Howard
Thank you Ken for all you did for me. Taught me to work with
tones and values and the inspiration of light. The light which
now seems to have gone out our lives. RIP dear man. A true
Painter in every sense of the word.
Max Hale
“It is the only place I know where one can stand on the spot and see
a composition at every turn.”
Thank you Ken for all you did for me. Taught me to work with
tones and values and the inspiration of light. The light which
now seems to have gone out our lives. RIP dear man. A true
Painter in every sense of the word.Max Hale
“It is the only place I know where one can stand on the spot and see
a composition at every turn.”
Instruction Books by Ken Howard or including contributions by Ken Howard
Compendium Books – including paintings by Ken Howard
Newspapers
- My life inside | The Guardian (2002) – about Ken Howard’s studio
Artist Ken Howard has an enviable life. He loves his work, which has placed him at the heart of Britain’s art world, and lives not in some threadbare garret, but in a glorious restored artists’ studio in one of the best parts of town
-
Britain’s Paintings by Neil MacGregor, (Director of the National
Gallery) Daily Telegraph.
-
Artist Ken Howard: ‘London is my wife, Venice is my mistress | Hampstead and Highgate Express (2016)
he does not regard himself as a landscape painter but rather “a
vertical, horizontal and linear painter”
- My life inside | The Guardian (2002) – about Ken Howard’s studio
-
Britain’s Paintings by Neil MacGregor, (Director of the National
Gallery) Daily Telegraph. - Artist Ken Howard: ‘London is my wife, Venice is my mistress | Hampstead and Highgate Express (2016)
Artist Ken Howard has an enviable life. He loves his work, which has placed him at the heart of Britain’s art world, and lives not in some threadbare garret, but in a glorious restored artists’ studio in one of the best parts of town
he does not regard himself as a landscape painter but rather “a
vertical, horizontal and linear painter”
Ken Howard – Favourite Subjects
Ken Howard had four favourite subjects which he stuck to, more or less all the
time, in later years. These were
-
studio pictures – frequently painted looking at a subject in a
mirror which has been square up – which accounts for why his size and
proportion was always spot on! Models were features of his art practice
and materials in the studio and nudes in the studio – often painted contre
jour. His studio used to belong to Sir William Orpen. - the universal aspect which united his landscapes were the tones and colour of light found in different places he knew very well. These were:
-
Cornwall coastal scenes – one of his homes was in Mousehole, in
Cornwall - Venice – another of his homes was in Venice
- London – I’ve seen very many large oil paintings of central London
in various seasons
Looking at his paintings, you sense he is keenly aware of this good fortune. The bulk of his work is optimistic, some might say saccharine: oils and watercolours of pleasant daylight scenes. And there are often highly personal motifs. He depicts, as if they were trophies, Cornish beaches (he has a house in Mousehole), Venetian city scenes (there’s a home there, too) and nudes in his London studio (a dominant theme). Yet, for Howard, the artist’s model is not a sufficient subject alone. Instead, he shows us the whole studio as well, with its wooden floors, chandeliers and traditional aspect towards the cold, consistent northern light.
That said he also painted other topics – notably war paintings and
Switzerland.
Ken Howard – Commissions
Besides private commissions he also completed commissions for various
institutions – including:
- The Drapers Company
- The Haberdashers Company
- States of Jersey
- HQ British Army of the Rhine
- United Nations Forces in Cyprus
- The Stock Exchange, London
- Lloyds of London
- The Royal Hospital, Chelsea
- Banque Paribas
Ken Howard – Works in Public Collections
Works by Ken Howard can be seen in the following public collections:
- Royal Academy of Arts, London
- Plymouth City Art Gallery
- Sheffield Art Gallery
- Hove Museum and Art Gallery
- Guildhall Art Gallery, London
- Ulster Museum and Art Gallery
- The Imperial War Museum, London
- The National Army Museum, London
The latter are associated with his recording of the army’s involvement in
‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland
One Man Exhibitions in Art Galleries
Main Galleries
-
New Grafton Gallery (1971; 1974, 1976, 1978-79, 1981, 1984-85, 1990, 1993,
1995, 1997, 2000) - Richard Green, Bond Street, London (2002-2007; 2009; 2011-16)
Other Exhibitions
- Plymouth Art Centre 1955
- John Whibley Gallery, London (1966; 1968)
- Plymouth Art Gallery – Retrospective Exhibition 1978
- New Metropole, Folkestone 1979
- St Helier Gallery 1980
- Hong Kong Art Centre
- Nicosia 1982
- Delhi 1983
- Linton Court Gallery (1986)
- Lowndes Lodge Gallery, London (1987, 1989, 1991, 1992)
- Brian Sinfield Gallery, Gloucestershire
- The Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town and Johannesburg (1998)
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