Frederick (Fred) Cecil Jones RBA (1891-1966)
"Hull"
Signed and inscribed, mixed media, 27cm by 37.5cm

Frederick Cecil Jones was a Yorkshire painter, etcher, and art teacher who produced extraordinarily detailed townscapes of his native county, that capture the spirit of time and place.

Jones was born in Bradford, the son of artist Maud Raphael Jones. After a brief period at Bradford College of art, in 1916 Jones enlisted into the army where his artistic skills were quickly utilised. He served for the remainder of the war as a reconnaissance artist on the Western Front, earning the nickname ‘Detail Jones’ for his ability to precisely render even the finest details of his subjects.

Returning to his West Yorkshire home after the War, he continued to hone his skills in panoramic drawing, capturing the towns and cities of Northern England with acutely observed detail. However, Jones did not just focus his powers of observation on landscape and architecture, he put people at the heart of his paintings which are often busting with life. He manages to capture small details of everyday life with a gentle, benevolent humour that makes his work so engaging; in a crowded shopping street a small child squirms in his mother’s arms, a shopper bends to peer into a window, and woman rummages for a lost item in her handbag.

Jones returned to his artistic education, attending Leeds College of Art part-time between 1930 and 1935, and married fellow artist Ethel Mary Kitson. Whilst continuing to paint, he taught at Pudsey School of Art, where he became Deputy Principal. He would go on to exhibit both locally and nationally, showing at Cartwright Hall, Bradford, the Royal Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy. His paintings are now held in numerous collections such as Tate Britain and Wakefield Art Galleries.