“Walsworth Common” by Jean Anne Watts – Woolgrove Rd, Hitchin, Herts, UK
Posted by: 
bill&ben
N 51° 57.471 W 000° 15.537
30U E 688334 N 5759899
A painting of the River Purwell meandering across Walsworth Common.
Waymark Code: WMMNDG
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/14/2014
Views: 2
The biography of Jean Watts is taken from the sleeve of her
book “A Silent Muse”.
“Jean Watts was
born in 1926 into an army family. She had one elder sister and her father was an
officer in the Royal Artillery. Jean spent several years in Egypt, but
eventually settled in East Sussex, where she worked for the local authority. A
gifted artist in both oils and watercolours, and member of several art clubs,
she exhibited paintings in various galleries, including the Royal Watercolour
Society. As well as being an avid book collector, Jean was fond of writing and
had several publications to her name, including a short biography of Theodore
Kern, a well-known artist, and a comprehensive history of Hitchin Art Club.
Married with three sons, she lived for many years in Hertfordshire but returned
to East Sussex in 2004 and passed away in April 2011.”
There are several bridges across the river, but the one in
the painting is close to a Grade II listed thatched cottage (91), on the right
of the picture. The painter would have placed her easel on the bank of the
river, which veers to the left, just below the bottom of the picture. The
picture, in oil on board, is in the Hitchin Museum and Art Gallery collection.
It was painted in 1964.