Ronald John Petts (10 January 1914 – 26 August 1991) was a British artist.
Petts was born in London, but is considered a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
artist and is known for his engravings and stained glass works.
Biography
Petts was born in the
Hornsey
Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner Lo ...
area of north London but, despite a childhood illness limiting his education, an interest in art and Saturday morning lessons at the
Hornsey School of Art
Hornsey College of Art (a.k.a. Hornsey School of Art) was a college in Crouch End in the London Borough of Haringey, England. The HCA was "an iconic British art institution, renowned for its experimental and progressive approach to art and design ...
led to him becoming a full-time student there in 1930.
A
British Institution
The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...
scholarship allowed Petts to study at the
Royal Academy Schools
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
for two years from 1933, during which time he also took evening classes in printing at the
Central School of Arts and Crafts
The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...
.
In 1935 Petts married the artist
Brenda Chamberlain in London and the couple set up home near
Llanllechid
Llanllechid () is a village near Bethesda and a community in Gwynedd, Wales with a population of 889 as of the 2011 UK census and an area of . The community also includes Tal-y-Bont near Bangor, Gwynedd and a large part of the Carneddau range ...
in north Wales, where they held two joint exhibitions of their art and supported themselves by creating and selling greeting cards and doing some part-time teaching in Bangor.
With Chamberlain, Petts bought a hand operated printing press and set up the Caseg Press in 1937 to produce bookplates, greeting cards and prints of local scenes.
Petts collaborated with the poet
Alun Lewis on illustrations for a number of Welsh-language magazines before the latter died in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
At the start of the war Petts had registered as a
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
and was required to undertake farm work away from Wales.
Petts and Chamberlain separated in 1943 after which Petts volunteered to join a
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
Parachute Field Ambulance unit.
He served in Europe and the Middle East during 1944 before transferring to the
Royal Army Educational Corps
The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gene ...
.
He taught art at an army college in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
before working as an army publications editor in Cairo.
Returning to Wales Petts, and his second wife
Kusha Petts, sought to restart the Caseg Press and also undertook work for the
Golden Cockerel Press
The Golden Cockerel Press was an English fine press operating between 1920 and 1961.
History
The private press made handmade limited editions of classic works. The type was hand-set and the books were printed on handmade paper, and sometimes ...
. He helped to design the
Lloyd George Museum at
Llanystumdwy
Llanystumdwy is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward on the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales. It lies in the traditional county of Caernarfonshire but is currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Gwyned ...
which for a time housed the Caseg Press's printing press.
Although new equipment allowed the Press to produce a wider range of material than previously the Press ceased production in 1951 and Petts took a series of posts with the
Welsh Committee of the Arts Council.
Petts was elected to the
Society of Wood Engravers
The Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) is a UK-based artists’ exhibiting society, formed in 1920, one of its founder-members being Eric Gill. It was originally restricted to artist-engravers printing with oil-based inks in a press, distinct from ...
in 1953 and became an Associate of the
Royal Society of Painter-Etchers & Engravers in 1957. Taking a post as a lecturer in design and crafts at the Carmarthen School of Art in 1957 allowed him to concentrate on working in stained-glass.
In 1963, Petts designed and created a
stained glass window
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
featuring a Black Jesus for the
16th Street Baptist Church
The 16th Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. In 1963, the church was bombed by Ku Klux Klan members. The bombing killed four young girls in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. The church is stil ...
in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, following a racially motivated
bombing
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
that killed four African-American girls aged 11–14. Petts was said to be horrified "as a father and as a craftsman" upon hearing the news.
Working with the ''
Western Mail'' to raise funds, Petts arranged donations from many thousands of Welsh people to pay for the window. The window was installed and dedicated in 1965. In 1970, the designs for the window were donated to the
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...
in
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
. In 2013, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the bombing, Petts's original designs were displayed at the National Library of Wales. In September 2018, it was reported that the church was concerned that Alabama's stormy weather would destroy the window and appealled to the public to raise funds to preserve it.
Petts also created stained glass windows at the
Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue
Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue is a synagogue in Hove, Sussex, England. It has 500 adult members.
History and affiliation
The community was founded in 1955 with temporary accommodation and the synagogue was dedicated in 1967 to serve a ...
in southern England and for several churches and chapels in Wales including the ''Tree of Life'' window for
St Peter's Church, Carmarthen.
Petts was a member of the Arts Council of Great Britain between 1958 and 1961. In 1966 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship.
In later life Petts lived and worked in
Abergavenny
Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...
.
Further reading
''John Petts and the Caseg Press'' by Alison Smith
References
Behind the Stained Glass: A History of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, The Rev. Dr. Christopher M. Hamlin, 1998, Crane Hill Publishers, Birmingham, Alabama.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petts, John
1914 births
1991 deaths
20th-century Welsh artists
Alumni of Middlesex University
Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design
Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools
Artists from London
Welsh conscientious objectors
British illustrators
British stained glass artists and manufacturers
English wood engravers
Members of The Welsh Group
People from Hornsey
Royal Army Educational Corps soldiers
Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers
British Army personnel of World War II
English conscientious objectors
20th-century engravers