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MOUNTED by his widow Heather, who lives in Newlyn,
the exhibition of paintings, In Retrospect being held in Trereife
Gallery – the first in the gallery's summer season of shows – by the
late John B Anderson, lives up to its title and allows one to look back
at his all too brief career.
Sadly, he died in 1997 when in his early 50s.
Although
born in Glasgow, when very young he left Scotland for London and then,
when still only eight years old, moved, with his family of course, to a
hill farm in Devon. One who was unfortunate enough to be plagued by
illness, he attended Foxhole School, Dartington, and also studied at
Exeter College of Art for what has been described as "a short and
turbulent time".
His
health problems were not to improve for a long while, not until an
eminent psychiatrist came to his rescue, in fact, suggesting that there
was every chance he would cure himself if "provided with a roof over
his head, supplied with art materials and given a small allowance".
It
was a prescription which worked. He went on to enrol at Heatherley's,
also attended St Martin's where he had the good luck to study under
Maggi Hambling, and eventually lived and worked in Lincolnshire. Having
family connections with Cornwall he came often to this part of the
world and four of the 25 pictures in this exhibition are from his
Bathers' Series, St Ives. Made in the 1980s, they relate to the
landscape-based abstracts made by the post-war avant garde artists in
the town.
Admission is free, and In Retrospect can be seen in Trereife Gallery 11am to 5pm daily until July 4.
article copyright WESTERN MORNING NEWS
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