Ken Howard was born in London in 1932 and went on to study at the Hornsey School of Art from 1949 to 1953. He then did his National Service with the Royal Marines before returning to study at the Royal College of Art from 1955 to 1958, winning a British Council Scholarship to Florence from 1958 to 1959.

Howard’s first solo show was held at the Plymouth Art Centre in 1955. Subsequent exhibitions were held in 1966 and 1968 at the John Whibley Gallery. From then on he exhibited extensively, both nationally and internationally, particularly with the New Grafton Gallery from the early 1970s. He was given a retrospective in 1972 at the Plymouth City Art Gallery and in 1973 and 1979 was appointed by the Imperial War Museum as official artist in Northern Ireland. He also worked with the British Army in Germany, Cyprus, Oman, Hong Kong, Nepal, Norway, Canada, Belize and Brunei from 1973 to 1982.

In 1962, Howard was elected a member of the New English Art Club, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1966, the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1979, the Royal West of England Academy 1981, Honorary Member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1988, Royal Academician in 1991 and President of the New English Art Club in 1998. Among his numerous awards are First Prize in the Lord Mayor’s Art Award in 1966, a Prize Winner in the John Moores Exhibition, Liverpool in 1978, first prize in the Hunting Group Awards and the Critics Prize at Sparkasse Karlsruhe in 1985. Ken Howard lives and works in London.

Howard’s technique is one based on strong observation and a high degree of draughtsmanship combined with tonal precision. The depiction of light is a strong and recurrent element of his work. A notable theme is the nude model in his studio or cityscapes, such as Venice, with emphasis placed on the reflection of light.

“I was brought up in London surrounded by railway yards and factories. This has very much influenced the use of horizontal and vertical structures and lines in my work. I am not a landscape painter, but rather a vertical horizontal and linear painter, which is why I have a passion for the lines that occur within my studios, and include them in my paintings. When I study a model, I think of that figure not in rhythmical terms, but in vertical or horizontal positions and planes.”  – Ken Howard

Prizes

1996 Lord Mayor’s Art Award (first prize)

1978 John Moores Exhibition in Liverpool

1979 John Laing Competition

1982 Hunting Group Awards (first prize)[5]

1983 RWA

1985 Critics Prize at Sparkasse Karlsruhe

1986 NEAC Centenary Award

2001 NEAC Critics Prize

Solo Exhibitions

1955                Plymouth Art Centre

1966                John Whibley Gallery, London

1968                John Whibley Gallery, London

1971                New Grafton Gallery, London

1972                Plymouth Art Gallery – Retrospective Exhibition

1974                New Grafton Gallery, London

1976                New Grafton Gallery, London

1978                New Grafton Gallery, London

1979                New Metropole, Folkestone

Hong Kong Art Centre

St Helier Gallery

1980                St Helier Gallery

1981                New Grafton Gallery, London

1982                Nicosia

1983                Delhi 1983

1984                New Grafton Gallery, London

St Helier Gallery

1985                New Grafton Gallery, London

1986                Linton Court Gallery

1987                Lowndes Lodge Gallery, London

New Grafton Gallery, London

1989                Lowndes Lodge Gallery, London

1990                New Grafton Gallery, London

Lowndes Lodge Gallery, London

1991                Lowndes Lodge Gallery, London

Brian Sinfield Gallery, Gloucestershire

1992                Lowndes Lodge Gallery, London

1993                New Grafton Gallery, London

Brian Sinfield Gallery, Gloucestershire

1995                New Grafton Gallery, London

Brian Sinfield Gallery, Gloucestershire

1997                New Grafton Gallery, London

1998                The Everard Read, Johannesburg

2000                New Grafton Gallery, London

The Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town

2002                Richard Green, London

2003                Richard Green, London

2004                Richard Green, London

2005                Richard Green, London

2006                Richard Green, London

2007                Richard Green, London

2009                Richard Green, London

2011                Richard Green, London

2012                Richard Green, London

2013                Richard Green, London

2015               Richard Green, London

2016                Richard Green, London

2017                Richard Green, London