Kenneth Howard OBE RA (26 December 1932 – 11 September 2022) was a British artist and painter. He was President of the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

from 1998 to 2003.

Life and art

Ken Howard was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. After attending

Kilburn Grammar School Kilburn Grammar School was an English grammar school which opened in 1898 in Kilburn, north-west London. The school ceased to exist in 1967. History The school's history is detailed in a book by Richard E Brock. It was founded by the Rev. Dr. H ...

, he studied at the

Hornsey College 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 ...

(1949–53) and the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

(1955–58). In 1958 he won a British Council Scholarship to Florence. He spent his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the Royal Marines (1953–55). In 1973 and 1978 he was the Official War Artist to Northern Ireland, and 1973–80 worked in various locations, including Hong Kong, Cyprus and Canada with the British Army. In 1983 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA). In 1998 he became President of the

, a post he held until 2003. In 1991 he was elected a Royal Academician (RA)."Ken Howard RA"
Royal Academy website. Accessed 14 June 2008 Howard painted in a "traditional" manner, based on strong observation and a high degree of draughtsmanship combined with tonal precision. The depiction of light is a strong and recurrent element of his work. A notable theme is the nude model in his studio. Another theme is a city scene, such as Venice, with emphasis placed on the reflection of light from puddles after rain. He has said: Howard's work is in public collections including the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public body. ...

Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guild ...

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...

and

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

. In 1989 his work was exhibited in

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...

jointly with Ernest Greenwood and John Stanton Ward. Howard was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours. He died from complications of a fall on 11 September 2022, at the age of 89.

Prizes

Howard has won various prizes including: *1996 Lord Mayor’s Art Award (first prize) *1978 John Moores Exhibition in Liverpool *1979 John Laing Competition *1982 Hunting Group Awards (first prize) *1983 RWA *1985 Critics Prize at Sparkasse Karlsruhe *1986 NEAC Centenary Award *2001 NEAC Critics Prize

Associations

(with date of election) *

(1962) *

Royal Institute of Oil Painters The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists. Histor ...

(1966) *

Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...

(1979) *

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade 2* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition program ...

(1981) *

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

Honorary Member (1988) *

Royal Academy 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 pur ...

Royal Academician (1991) *

President (1998)

Books

*''Ken Howard'' by Ken Howard (2002) published by

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

, . *''A Vision of Venice in Watercolour'' by Ken Howard and Michael Leitch (2002) published by Harry S Abrams, Inc., . *''A Personal View : Inspired by Light'' by Ken Howard and Sally Bulgin (1998) published by

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

, *''Art Class'' by Ken Howard (1999) published by Quadrillon, *''Light and Dark: The Autobiography of Ken Howard'' (2011) published by Royal Academy of Arts, *''Ken Howard's Switzerland, In the Footsteps of Turner'' by Ken Howard (2013) published by Royal Academy of Art,

DVDs

*''The Way I See It'' a documentary on the life and work of Professor Ken Howard OBE RA by Dave Austin & Neale Worley. Independent production. www.nealeworley.com/kenhowarddvd

Footnotes

External links

Ken Howard's official website
*

2002 article in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Ken 1932 births 2022 deaths 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters 21st-century English male artists Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists commissioned by the Imperial War Museum Members of the Royal West of England Academy Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Kilburn Grammar School Royal Academicians 20th-century English male artists Artists from London