Vintage Original Oil on Canvas Painting Depicting a Female Sitter

‘No. 10 Mrs C. Woods’ by James Kenneth Howard RA OBE (1932-2022).

An early example of Howard’s work skillfully depicting a woman sitting in a chair in her living room, I wonder if it is a woman he knew well. Not only has Howard captured her character but typically of Howard’s work it is painted from an unusual viewpoint which in this case is used to great effect, he once said he used the verticle and horizontal lines inspired by growing up in the London cityscape in all of his work and I can certainly see that in the construction of this composition.

Signed to the lower right ‘J. K. Howard’ denoting that this piece was probably painted in the 1950s but he was known to sign ‘J. K. Howard’ into the 1960s so it could possibly be a bit later. With the help of researchers at the Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal College of Art, we have been able to ascertain that he was still exhibiting under the name James until around 1968 by which time he decided to be known as ‘Ken’ moving forward.

In its original and complimentary gilt frame.

The painting itself is in very good condition, there are no significant areas of damage or areas of restoration, there is some minor wear commensurate with age.

Overall measurements: 113cm x 73cm x 7cm.

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Artist bio…

Ken Howard studied at Hornsey School of Art from 1949 to 1953. After his national service, he studied at the Royal College of Art from 1955 to 1958. He went on to win a British Council Scholarship to Florence from 1958 to 1959.

Howard’s first solo show was held at the Plymouth Art Centre in 1955. Subsequent exhibitions were held in 1966 and 1968 at the John Whibley Gallery. From then on he exhibited extensively, both nationally and internationally, particularly with the New Grafton Gallery from the early 1970s. He was given a retrospective in 1972 at the Plymouth City Art Gallery and in 1973 and 1979 was appointed by the Imperial War Museum as official artist in Northern Ireland.

Howard was elected a member of the New English Art Club in 1962, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1966, the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1979, the Royal West of England Academy 1981, Honorary Member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1988, Royal Academician in 1991 and President of the New English Art Club in 1998. He won many prizes over the years and his work features in numerous public and private collections globally.