The oil paintings of John Shelton (1923-1993): an ongoing catalogue
2011 saw me bite off more than I could chew, in that I thought I could catalogue all of the works of John Shelton. John was a prolific sculptor and also produced many monotypes in addition to his oils paintings. The idea behind the BBC ‘Your Paintings’ project threw me a lifeline though: limit the scope of the catalogue to the oil paintings. What follows is a catalogue of the oils which I have come across to date, along with my own musings tempered with more qualified observations by Paine Proffitt…
Arthur Berry: “The environment of Stoke-on-Trent with its curious shapes and moods and overcast heavy light has deeply influenced John Shelton. Sometimes to love it and sometimes to deny it. Many of his subjects walk its streets, arrive at its pubs and billiard halls and appear on its waste ground. Sometimes this world has made him react against it and in these moods a more sophisticated kind of painting has occurred; a painting of rich luxurious textures and colours which show a controlled sensuality and feeling that is a deep rooted part of this artist’s nature.“
Untitled Potteries Scene (1950)
This is the earliest of John’s oil paintings which I have seen to date – I suspect that it is a scene of his hometown done from memory, as at the time John was still in London having recently completed his education at the Slade School of Art. The work is untitled; the stretcher holding the canvas merely has the single word “Green” written on it in John’s handwriting.
Woman with a book (1959)
Oil on board sold via Sotheby’s, London on 12 October 1988 [Lot 00173].
Cat on a table (1960)
This piece can be viewed at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and is also on the BBC Your Paintings website. The museum note that the work was purchased in 1989. Sold via Sotheby’s on 12 October 1988 [Lot 00172] – I am unsure whether the sale was to the museum or to another party who subsequently sold it to the museum.
Picasso and Braque were two of John’s influences; this work shows John experimenting with how the subjects occupy their own space on the canvas.
PP – Some of the stylistic influences of Picasso and Braque can be found in the painting, along with a slightly representational ‘cubist’ feel and the flattening of perspective.
Shelton Bar Steelworker with Bike (1960)
This is undoubtedly my favourite of all of John’s work. John and his wife were taken to Shelton Steelworks in 1960 by John’s uncle – the visit obviously making an impression. The painting is a large piece which is best appreciated from afar. With the right lighting, the orange glow of the steelworks can be made out, albeit more subtly nowadays due to the matt quality of the aging oils.
PP – This piece also reflects the working man, the working life and the working industry of the area (or the industrial north). The painting has a loose stylistic connection of fellow-artist and friend Arther Berry, with whom John worked with and shared a house with at one time. Both artists at times sought to capture the characters of the town and also a visual representation of the life, lifestyles, times, people and industry of where they lived.
Pigeon Flyer (1962)
The thick-set, heavy-handed subject is in stark contrast to the fragility of the dreams and the moment’s escapism which the pigeon offers the man.
PP – The painting again highlights local characters, interests and pastimes, capturing the unique character of the town and its people, but it also shows a dreamlike, symbolic romanticism and view of our interests, dreams and personal escapes.
Clown Resting (1962)
Clowns were a recurrent theme in John’s paintings and monotypes. This particular piece was donated to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in 1987 by Mrs. Lovatt and is also part of the BBC Your Paintings website. The Festival of Britain of 1951 – at which John worked during his time in London – seems to have stuck in John’s psyche: the Union Jack image to the bottom left of the picture crops up in several of his pieces. Clowns and violins were recurrent themes also.
PP – The painting strips away the idea of clown as ‘entertainer’ and shows the reality and the person behind the facade. The piece does not just act as a “sad clown” painting, it shows the hard reality of the person under the makeup. With the wringing of his hands, the vacant hollow eyes, shell-like face and leaning forward sitting posture, the figure leaves the viewer guessing as to the situation surrounding the character – is he nervous, troubled by something in his life, suffering from depression, just bored, waiting for his moment to perform or taking a moment to contemplate a performance just finished. With the colours, character and body language Shelton seems to be suggesting much more than a simple scene and leaves the viewer to wonder about the story behind the performer.
Richard Loves Richard (1964)
Arguably the most reactionary of John’s paintings, this mixed media piece features Richard III on a Bakelite television. Most likely inspired by a television drama. John would have been drawn to Richard III as a subject matter out of empathy; John was crippled due to having polio as a child.
PP – There’s some interesting symbolism and imagery of the strong, powerful king that’s been left in a crippling, weak position, especially with the broken, skeletal body and haunted eyes.
Violin Woman (year unknown)
I suspect that the piece was created in the mid 1970s, given Shelton’s preceding and subsequent styles. The work was possibly inspired by Man Ray and his “Violon d’Ingres” – a fair assumption given that Shelton saved the Observer Magazine article “How Man Ray put magic into photography” (27 April 1975) in his scrapbook.
Cat and Table 2 with Theseus Head (year unknown)
A follow-up to the first piece in the series, this second piece features a red bust of Theseus, one of the ceramic pieces which Shelton produced. It is not known when this was painted, although I suspect that chronologically it is in the right position relative to the paintings before and after it in this article.
Goodbye Little Yellow Bird (1983)
Last whereabouts: bought in at Phillips Marylebone auction, 07 December 1990 [Lot 00089].
Night Out with Robert, my Father and Me in 1928 (1988)
1988 onwards saw a radical change in John’s style. His diaries suggest that he had a lot of ideas – many based in times past – which he wanted to get down on canvas “before the memory fades“. This work is set in 1928 and depicts John at the fair with his father. The year is significant – it is the year before John contracted polio – serving to reinforce my own belief that this is an idealised depiction of his childhood. It is set at the Hanley Wakes fairground albeit there is artistic licence in there with the inclusion of the Blackpool Tower in the background. There is a cryptic – possibly allegorical - message on the reverse of the canvas relating to the lion tamer’s treatment of those in his charge. The work will possibly be in a circus-themed exhibition at the Potteries Museum in 2012 along with Clown Resting and a tinted monotype (Dwarf Clown Resting).
Over the Trent and Mersey (1988)
John’s paintings continue to explore a more surrealist style. The Punch character is a reference to the Punch & Judy relationship of his parents and the male subject is his Uncle Reuben – supposedly “danced to the grave” by his bride. Paintings from this period hint at the old Shelton (district of Stoke-on-Trent) of which I had a fleeting glimpse as a child. The work is currently undergoing restoration; the strainer on which the canvas was hung has twisted making it necessary to mount the work on a new properly-tensioned stretcher.
PP - This piece, as many of John’s work from this period of his life, is mixed with strong personal emotions and memories, heavy symbolism and an autobiographical (or biographical) view. The paintings from this period, and very strong in this piece, tell a story which John finds important (almost with a necessary need) to tell but also only hints at, leaving the viewer to pick apart the symbolic clues, fill in the gaps and put pieces of the puzzle together. John wants the story to be told but can’t tell it in a clear, straightforward manner – there seems a need to tell a secret but a reluctance to actually say the words. He uses a surreal symbolism and imagery very similar and characteristic of Chagall to tell his story.
The Day the Circus Came To Town (late 1980s)
Makes reference to this in his diaries.
Burstow and Hewett auction, 2004 [Lot 53]
Mickey’s Fall (late 1980s)
John made the following entry about this work in his diary:
The falling figure, top right, with the ear ring and red cravat is Mickey in his fatal fall. Bottom left is the Cannonball Lady supporting the Ring Master in the guise of Groucho Marx raising his hat… Bottom right and left are a lion and a dwarf clown both with the same blank gaze: the show must go on.
Rosebery’s, 2001 [Lot 22]
Spectre (Homage to Felix Labisse – The Prodigal Daughter) (1988)
This is Shelton’s own version of the Felix Labisse painting The Prodigal Daughter. The work was done as a precursor to the subsequent piece which was Shelton’s own interpretation of the Labisse original.
Untitled – ?”Shelton’s Prodigal Daughter” (1993)
John was working on this piece at the time of his death, hence the work being unfinished. The black bird of Labisse’s work is replaced by the white gull and the recurrent image of the clown and violin are also present on Shelton’s version.
