Vernon Beauvoir Ward (1905–1985) was a 20th-century English painter and commercial artist noted for his works of flowers, birds and Edwardian subjects and who lived for most of his life in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

in London.

Early life and education

He was born in

, the son of an art dealer, educated at St Joseph's

Roman Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...

in Highgate and trained at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London under

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...

Wilson Steer Philip Wilson Steer (28 December 1860 – 18 March 1942) was a British painter of landscapes, seascapes plus portraits and figure studies. He was also an influential art teacher. His sea and landscape paintings made him a leading figure in ...

and

Sir Walter Russell Sir Walter Westley Russell CVO RA (31 May 1867 – 16 April 1949) was a British painter and art teacher. He became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1926 and served as Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools from 1927 to 1942. Life and care ...

. He was the cousin of

John Stanton Ward John Stanton Ward CBE (10 October 1917 – 13 June 2007) was an English portrait artist, landscape painter and illustrator. His subjects included British royalty and celebrities. Life and work Ward was born in Hereford, where his father, Russ ...

Career

A member of the New Society of Artists, he was elected an associate of the

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 ...

in 1926 and exhibited at the Royal Society and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. During the war he worked on ambulance maintenance with the Civil Defence Service in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. His work found particular favour in the commercial sector with publishers such as Solomon and Whitehead, Frost and Reed and W.N Sharpe of

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

and reproductions of his work were often found on jigsaw puzzles, greetings cards and commercial prints. He painted a symbolic figure composition for the Free French during World War II and the Borough of Twickenham commissioned him to design a naval war memorial. He occasionally produced original works under the pseudonym Bertram Linder.

References

* Walpole, Josephine, ''Vernon Ward, Child of the Edwardian Era'',

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

: Antique Collector's Club, 1988 (). * Cox, Warren E., ''The Homelovers Book'', London: Frost & Reed Ltd, 1953

External links

Examples of Ward's work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Vernon 20th-century English painters English male painters British modern painters Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art 1905 births 1985 deaths 20th-century English male artists