In 1915, as a 12-year-old girl Ray (Rose Mary) Howard-Jones first visited Tenby and was inspired by the seascape to make her first watercolour paintings here. The sea, wildlife and rock formations were to be themes which greatly influenced her work for the rest of her life.
She became a prize-winning student at the Slade School of Art in the early 1920s and, after a varied and distinguished career in art and design, including working as an accredited war artist during the Second World War, she was acknowledged by the 1970s as an artist of high repute, travelling widely and successfully exhibiting in major galleries.
Always experimenting with techniques, Ray Howard-Jones worked in oil, watercolour, gouache, pastel, mixed media, collage and mosaic. Her work frequently moved into abstraction, although the familiar themes of sea and landscape still predominated.
Throughout her long and highly productive artistic career this Anglo-Welsh painter-poet was to spend much of her time in Pembrokeshire where the natural landscapes and seascapes were to remain a profound source of inspiration to her. Whilst in Pembrokeshire Ray made many friends from all walks of life and an exhibition at Tenby Museum and Art Gallery commencing on October 3, is planned essentially as a local Pembrokeshire tribute to an artist who made a profound impression in this area and elsewhere.
Tenby Museum and Art Gallery is honoured to present this retrospective exhibition of the work of Ray Howard-Jones which continues until November 1. Drawn from both public and private collections, the exhibition contains examples of the artist's work in many techniques. The work is on display is representative of almost 70 years of her artistic life and reflects Ray Howard-Jones's close links with Pembrokeshire. During the next 12 months a number of exhibitions will be held in Wales to celebrate the artist's centenary.
Tenby Museum and Art Gallery is open seven days a week from 10 am to 5 pm.