One of Britain's best loved artists
Ken Howard OBE RA has been one of the UK’s most respected painters for over 60 years and is well known for his paintings of London, Cornwall and Venice.
Ken studied at Hornsey School of Art from 1949 to 1953. After his National Service with the Royal Marines he returned to study at the Royal College of Art from 1955 to 1958. He went on to win a British Council Scholarship to Florence from 1958 to 1959. In 1983 he was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Academy, becoming a Royal Academician (RA) in 1991.
For Ken Howard painting is about three things: revelation, communication and celebration. By revelation he means giving people a way of seeing, revealing the world around them in a way they have never seen before and opening their eyes. By communication he means revealing the world with a personal language, speaking directly in an instantly recognisable style. He wants it to celebrate life whether it be human dignity expressed by Velasquez or Cezanne, or the wonders of nature expressed by Corot or Monet. For Ken his main inspiration is light and it is through light that he wants to celebrate his world.
Biographical Details
1932 Born in London
1949-53 Studied at the Hornsey School of Art
1952 First Exhibited at the Royal Academy
1953-55 National Service in the Royal Marines
1955-58 Studied at the Royal College of Art
1958-59 British Council Scholarship to Florence
1959 First exhibited at the New English Art Club
1962 Elected a Member of the New English Art Club
1966 Elected a Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
1973 Appointed Official Artist in Ireland by the Imperial War Museum
1979 Elected a Member of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours
1981 Elected a Member of the Royal West of England Academy
1983 Elected an Associate Member of the Royal Academy
1988 Elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of British Artists
1988 Elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
1988 Elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
1991 Elected a Member of the Royal Academy
1998 Elected as President of the New English Art Club
2004 Professor of Perspective, Royal Academy of Arts
2006 Elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
2008 Elected Senior RA: 1 October 2008
2010 Awarded OBE
Society Memberships
New English Art Club (1962)
New English Art Club President (1998)
Royal Academy Royal Academician (1991)
Royal Institute of Oil Painters (1966)
Royal Society of British Artists Honorary Member (1988)
Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours (1979)
Royal West of England Academy (1981)
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Honorary Member (1988)
Scholarships, Awards, Prizes
2001 New English Art Club Critics Prize
1996 Lord Mayor's Art Award (first prize)
1986 NEAC Centenary Award
1985 Critics Prize at Sparkasse Karlsruhe
1983 RWA
1982 Hunting Group Awards (first prize)
1979 John Laing Competition
1978 Prize Winner in the John Moores Exhibition in Liverpool
1966 First Prize in the Lord Mayor’s Art Award
