Jean Jones had earned the nicknamed Dartmoor’s Forgotten Painter – and if you have never heard of her it proves the point.
Jones died in 2012 leaving behind a treasure trove of more than 400 paintings. Now, after nearly a decade her legacy is being reclaimed, thanks to her grandson Nelson Jones, a group of friends from Oxford and Catherine Gillen from The Brownston Gallery in Devon which is set to host a well overdue retrospective.
Jean Verity Robinson was born in London in 1927. Her family moved to Devon when she was a child where they lived near the picturesque village of Noss Mayo. After leaving school Jean briefly attended Saint Martin’s School of Art where she studied under the tutelage of Ruskin Spear. She returned to painting in the 1960s and on her death in 2012 she left behind dozens of artworks.
“Jean was an extraordinary and dedicated artist,” says her grandson. “Unfortunately, she lived in the shadow of mental illness and her work has not yet enjoyed the acclaim it deserves. We are working hard to put this right and to reclaim her place in the history of post-war British art.”
Jean Jones – Dartmoor’s Forgotten Painter is on at The Brownston Gallery, Modbury, 3-24 October, 2020.
