Ken Howard OBE RA (1932-2022) Oil on board, Campo Santa Maria Formosa, c 1990

The Modern British painter, Ken Howard regularly paints subjects including the studio nude, Venetian scenes and Cornish beaches. Howard was born in London in 1932 and studied at Hornsey School of Art from 1949 to 1953, before completing his National Service with the Royal Marines. He then returned to study at the Royal College of Art in 1955, and in the same year held his first solo exhibition at the Plymouth Art Centre. From then on he exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally, particularly with the New Grafton Gallery from the early 1970’s. In 1973 he was appointed by the Imperial War Museum to be the official war artist in Northern Ireland. Throughout his artistic career, Howard has won a number of major awards and gained memberships to a variety of prestigious organisations. He was elected as a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1966, the Royal West of England Academy in 1981 and became an honorary member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1988. Continually exhibiting at the Royal Academy since 1964, Howard was elected as a Royal Academician in 1991 and became President of the New English Art Club in 1998. Among his numerous awards are the First Prize in the Lord Mayor’s Art Award in 1966, first prize in the Hunting Group Awards and the Critics Prize at Sparkasse Karlsruhe, Germany in 1985. He now divides his time between his studios in Cornwall and London. His work can be found in many private and public collections, including the Imperial War Museum and Plymouth City Art Gallery.