Nancy Wynne-Jones; painter bewitched by wild Celtic landscapes
Hyfler/Rosner
A generous painter bewitched by wild Celtic landscapes
David Whittaker
Wednesday November 29, 2006
Guardian
http://www.mullangallery.com/searchresults.asp?ArtistID=71
http://www.jmlondon.com/pages/single/23764-309.html
The wilder regions of Wales, Cornwall and Ireland bestowed a
strong Celtic quality on the art of Nancy Wynne-Jones, who
has died aged 83 at her home in County Wicklow. In the 1950s
and 60s, she was a significant figure in the Cornish
artistic community of St Ives, where she turned her home
into studios for other artists and writers.
Wynne-Jones was born at Dolgellau, north Wales, the youngest
of three children, to Charles Llewellyn Wynne-Jones and
Sybil Mary Gella; her paternal pedigree went back through
ancient Welsh stock. A delicate child, she was educated at
home. Her love of animals started her drawing and painting,
and she received instruction from the children's book
illustrator Ruth Gervis. Herbert Read's book Art Now was her
introduction to abstract painting.
As a teenager Wynne-Jones was encouraged by a local doctor
to take up the violin and compose, which led to her entering
the Royal Academy of Music in 1940. The war brought great
personal tragedy to her family when both her brothers were
killed within a year of each other while serving in north
Africa. Nancy herself volunteered for war work at the
Ordnance Survey, and left the RAM in 1943. From 1946 to 1950
she ran the Forum bookshop in Fulham, west London. This was
an extension of her own bibliophilia and never proved much
of a financial success, though she built up a huge personal
library of art books.
In 1952 Wynne-Jones turned her full attention to painting
and enrolled at the Chelsea School of Art as a non-degree
student. Five years later she moved to St Ives and fell
under the charismatic spell of Peter Lanyon. From him she
learned about the spatial depth and movement of abstract
expressionism and enjoyed his unconventional teaching
methods, which involved encouraging students to engage with
the rugged landscape in a more visceral manner. Her painting
became bright and breezy, in keeping with the spirit of the
place, and was meticulously crafted.
Wynne-Jones was also an energetic party animal, and
developed important friendships with most of the gifted
artists of the time, including Roger Hilton and Bryan
Wynter. Francis Bacon spent some months in St Ives, and she
enjoyed his witty company while acting as his chauffeur.
In 1962 she bought Trevaylor, a large country house with
grounds near Penzance, and turned many of the rooms into
studios. This was to prove a stimulating environment for
artists and writers to work in and exchange ideas. The poet
WS [Sydney] Graham and his wife Nessie lived there, as did
the Irish painter Tony O'Malley, who found the natural
setting conductive to his development in non-figurative
work. Wynne-Jones was particularly generous to the Grahams,
later providing them with a rent-free house, thus allowing
the impecunious Sydney to pursue his writing for the rest of
his days.
She was especially devastated by the death of Lanyon,
following a gliding accident in 1964, but the presence of
the painter and sculptor Conor Fallon provided her with
empathy and solace, and they married in 1966 (he has since
become one of Ireland's leading sculptors). In 1970 they
adopted two young siblings, John and Bridget, and in 1972
moved to Kinsale, County Cork.
Wynne-Jones's work became more intimate with a period of
still life, and she started composing again. In 1988, the
family settled in the more mountainous Rathdrum area of
County Wicklow. She was now showing regularly, notably with
the Taylor galleries in Dublin, and was elected an honorary
member of the Royal Hibernian Academy.
The discovery, in the 1990s, of the large bogs of County
Mayo came as a revelation to Wynne-Jones. It was her desire,
she said, "to possess and be possessed" by this
multi-textured landscape which galvanised her into a late
flowering, blending abstract and figuration to convey the
total sensation of atmosphere. Seamus Heaney referred to her
paintings, earthy and moist, with rich warm, subtle ochres
and reds, as "place and palette and spirit, all equal".
Wynne-Jones will also be remembered for her benevolent
contribution to the St Ives creative community. Conor and
their children survive her.
· Nancy Wynne-Jones, artist, born December 10 1922; died
November 9 2006