Meeting Ken Howard
I always enjoy the company of artist Ken Howard with whom I had dinner the other night at the Chelsea Arts Club. 85 years young he is still has a prodigious output mainly of places he has just visited. Known chiefly as a painter of light and use of contre jour technique (against the daylight) he is more versatile that that. His studio was once that of Sir William Orpen a society portraitist who numbered Winston Churchill and various American presidents amongst his subjects. In the traditions of the previous owner in the corner of the studio was a fine study of Joe Root which Ken is submitting to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibtion. He has also painted Jonny Wilkinson. Fun and laughter is never far off in the company of Ken. On the day we met up he was painting Richmond Bridge. He was stopped by a passer by who said ” Your picture reminds me of a painter I really like … Ken Howard”.
Ken started his career as a war artist for the Imperial War Museum. Sent to Northern Ireland at the height of the troubles he set up his easel in the Falls Road. He was asked what he was doing by an IRA man, Ken said he was painting a car, they engaged in conversation, another thing that comes easily to Ken, and the IRA man thoughtfully blew up the car to make it a more interesting subject.
He is like many an artist an engaging conversationalist – many painters were, notably Richard Sickert and Whistler – but I have never heard him criticise a painter. Conversely he has never been rated by many artists and critics. I genuinely think he is not bothered: his pictures sell, they rise in value and he has a wide following that includes John Cleese, Jeffrey Archer and Eric Clapton.
I’m reading a book called Rogues Gallery by Philip Hook, a history of art dealing which I find fascinating. Artists do become art dealers and the inter-relationship between artists, dealers, collectors and auction houses is well depicted in the book. Pictures were once sold by weight which would be good for Frank Auerbach who uses thickly encrusted impasto. Ken said he once had to lift one of his pictures and it weighed a ton. That is another interesting thing about Ken, being a such a gregarious man he knows virtually every British artist of note and worth and as a Professor of Perspective at the Royal Academy his views on any artist including the Great Masters are always worth hearing.
The art world, unregulated as it is, is full of rogues as the title of the Hook work suggests. The whole issue of authentication is tainted by conflict of interest as for example the great art historian Bernard Berenson received a 25% split of profits for authentication or non-authentication from Claude Duveen the most famous art dealer of his age. We regularly read of forgeries such as Van Dyck recently. I suppose it must be like one of our Rust sporting contributors meeting one of their heroes and finding he has feet of clay. However I can assure you that it you ever met Ken Howard you would not be disappointed as his company is a sparkling as the light in his paintings.
