Nancy Wynne-Jones

Nancy Wynne-Jones HRHA
Nancy Wynne-Jones
Born Nancy Wynne-Jones
(1922-12-10)10 December 1922
Penmaenucha, Dolgellau, Wales
Died 9 November 2006(2006-11-09) (aged 83)
Co. Wicklow, Ireland
Nationality Irish
Known for Abstract landscapes

Nancy Wynne-Jones HRHA (10 December 1922 – 9 November 2006) was a Welsh and Irish artist.

Life

Wynne-Jones was born in Penmaenucha in Wales to landowner Charles Llewellyn Wynne-Jones and Sybil Mary Gella Scott. The family spent half the year in Wales and half the year in Thornhill, Stalbridge, Dorset. She had two brothers, both of whom died in Africa during World War II.[1][2]

A delicate child Wynne-Jones was educated at home. However her skill in art lead to her getting lessons in Sherborne from a children's book illustrator. Her music was encouraged by the family doctor and she began to compose and study the violin receiving lessons in Bournemouth with the first violinist of the symphony orchestra and after the start of the Second World War she continued in Aberystwyth. Wynne-Jones went on to study the violin and composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London (1940–43). While in London she also served as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse until 1943 and from then as a draughtswoman at the Ordnance Survey.[1][2][3]

After the War Wynne-Jones bough and managed a bookshop in Fulham but it was not a financial success. She returned to painting studying at the Heatherley School of Fine Art, London from 1951 to 1952 and the Chelsea School of Art from 1952–1955. She travelled extensively through Portugal and Italy painting landscapes. An interest in completing landscapes in an abstract manner lead her to study with Peter Lanyon in St Ives, Cornwall.[1][2][3][4]

Wynne-Jones began study in Cornwall in 1957 and remained there for fifteen years. Her first public exhibition was in a group show (1957) at the Pasmore Edwards Gallery, Newlyn. Other group shows were Jefferson Place Gallery, Washington, DC, USA (1959), and in Falmouth, Cornwall (1960). Her solo exhibitions were the New Vision Centre, London (1962) and 1965, Florence (1963) and Dolgellau (1964). From the 1960 through the 1990s she exhibited in Britain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Holland, South Africa, and the USA.[1][4][2][3]

In 1962 Wynne-Jones bought Trevaylor near Penzance and provided accommodation for other artists including Tony O'Malley, Conor Fallon and W. S. 'Sydney' Graham. She met her future husband as a result. In the 1970s she exhibited in Ireland; at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin (1970) and at the Emmet Gallery, Dublin (1975 and 1977). During the 1980s at the Lincoln and Hendricks galleries in Dublin. She was elected honorary member of the RHA in 1994 and became a member of Aosdána in 1996.[1][2][3][4]

Personal life

Wynne-Jones had been involved with artist Derek Middleton before moving to Cornwall. There she had become romantically involved with Graham who was in an open marriage, however it was the death of her mentor Lanyon which devastated her. She met the sculptor Fallon through their mutual friend O'Malley. Fallon had arrived in Cornwall ostensibly to meet Lanyon. They married in 1966. Their honeymoon in Provance was immortalised in expressionist paintings done by Wynne-Jones. The couple adopted a boy and a girl, siblings, John and Bridget. In 1972 she moved with her family to Kinsale, Co. Cork. It was in the area around here that a number of her paintings were created. Later she painted the mountain visible from her Wicklow home. She moved to Ballard House, near Rathdrum, County Wicklow in 1987. She died in 2006 and was buried in Ballinatone (Church of Ireland), Rathdrum.[1][2][3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Dictionary of Irish Biography".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Obituary: Nancy Wynne-Jones". The Guardian. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nancy Wynne Jones - Former Member". Aosdana.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Artist couple's personal collection to be sold". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
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