Fred Jones (1891-1956) painter, etcher and teacher was born in Bradford. Fred was the son of artist, Maud Raphael Jones and the husband of Ethel Mary Kitson, a fellow Bradford-born artist, whom he married in 1925.
He studied at Bradford College of Art, 1915 -16, and part-time at Leeds College of Art, 1930-35.
In 1916 Fred volunteered for the Army where his artistic talent was recognised and utilised. He served as a reconnaissance artist, where he gained the nickname, ‘Detail Jones’, for the quality and precision of his work. He briefly taught other Army artists the skill of panoramic reconnaissance drawing, but served most of his time on the Western Front until the close of the war.
After the war, Fred drew and painted the towns and cities of North England, with work again characterized by its close observation and attention to detail. He also often applied tinted washes to the paintings.
In addition to his own artwork, by 1926 he was employed as an assistant art master at Pudsey School of Art, and by 1930 he was also working as an art master at the Pudsey and District Secondary and Technical School (later the Pudsey Grammar School), as well as continuing as a tutor at the Pudsey School of Art.
‘Twilight Over Lancaster’. Image courtesy of AskArt
Scarborough’. Image: in a private collection
Fred Jones exhibited locally, including at Cartwright Hall, and at the Royal Academy, Royal Scottish Academy, Royal Society of British Artists (RBA). He was elected to RBA in 1940 and a memorial exhibition of his work was held at Cartwright Hall, 1956 and at Keighley, 1957.
In 1969 a large number of his hitherto unseen paintings were found in the cellars of Pudsey Grammar School, where he had worked in t he 1930s, and were displayed, along with other works loaned by local people, at the school.
‘View of Thackley’ (in private collection)
His work is held by the Tate Gallery, as well as by the Bradford, Huddersfield and Wakefield Art Galleries. He was a member of the Bradford Arts Club.
Fred and Ethel Jones. Photograph by courtesy of David Foster.
A scene, circa 1930, by Fred Jones of his students at the Pudsey and District Secondary and Technical School (later the Pudsey Grammar School) painting on the rooftop of their school overlooking the rooftops of Pudsey. Image: in a private collection.
‘Bingley Bridge’. Image: artoftheprint.com In a private collection.
Fred Jones was a familiar figure around Pudsey, where he lived and worked. He died on 1st May 1956.
A local journalist wrote a memory of Fred in 1969:
Until his death 13 years ago, his battered trilby and long overcoat were a familiar sight in the town. So was his old suitcase in which he carried his basic equipment, watercolours, brushes, a bottle of Guinness, half a loaf of bread and cold sausages. His lips were often discoloured – he had a habit of licking his brushes and insisted on a preference for Rose Madder. He said it tasted like eggs and bacon! For all his eccentricities he was an artist of talent, with a sharp eye for the humorous.
(Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 15.9.1969)
Chimney Stacks and Winding Ways, Whitby (1936) Image: Tate Gallery
Fred Jones is one of twenty artists featured in the book, Lesser Known Bradford Artists’ available via Ebay