I only discovered today that the painter and illustrator John Craxton has died. I like some of his work very much (above is his Llanthony Priory, which hangs in the Tate), but,to be honest, I had no idea he was still alive. To judge by the obits, his was not only a long but, for the most part, a happy life, and, like Patrick Leigh Fermor (whose books he illustrated and who is still, wonderfully, alive), he found his earthly paradise in Greece. More of Craxton here - he sounds a lot more fun than his old flatmate Freud (and I'd sooner have a Craxton on the wall).
Friday, 20 November 2009
John Craxton
I only discovered today that the painter and illustrator John Craxton has died. I like some of his work very much (above is his Llanthony Priory, which hangs in the Tate), but,to be honest, I had no idea he was still alive. To judge by the obits, his was not only a long but, for the most part, a happy life, and, like Patrick Leigh Fermor (whose books he illustrated and who is still, wonderfully, alive), he found his earthly paradise in Greece. More of Craxton here - he sounds a lot more fun than his old flatmate Freud (and I'd sooner have a Craxton on the wall).
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That's a superb image. How I'd like something similar here.
ReplyDelete"In 1960 Craxton finally settled at Hania on the island of Crete, where his life was by all accounts as idyllic as his pictures had become. A devotee of Greek music, Byzantine art and Moto Guzzi motorcycles ..."
... according to the obit. A Guzzi man, there's something about a Guzzi man: rare beasts who know how to enjoy life in my experience.
Ah, lives (and talent) like that make me most jealous!
ReplyDeleteMe too Kate!
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