James Page-Roberts CV (July 2015)

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James Page-Roberts was born on the 5^th of February 1925 in the Roman town of Silchester.

Educated at Wellington College and Taft School (USA).

Joined the RAF in 1942.

Having been invalided out of the war as a pilot, he became a medical student at St. Thomas's Hospital. After a recurrence of tuberculosis, he studied art at the Central School of Art under Bernard Meninsky, and then theatre design. Having completed the design course at the Old Vic School under Margaret Harris, he painted scenery at The Royal Opera House with Clement Glock and designed for repertory, touring shows, children's theatre and television.

            Returning to his primary love of painting, he exhibited in many mixed exhibitions, like the Society of Marine Artists and Wessex Artists, and in London galleries, such as The Leicester Galleries and The Redfern Gallery. He held one-man shows of landscape and people in landscape at galleries in London's Gallerie de Seine, West Halkin Street, The Reid Gallery, Cork Street, The Qantas Gallery, Bond Street, besides shows at The Central Library, Cambridge, and The Kintetsu Gallery, Osaka, Japan. His painting of Tower Bridge and the Pool of London in 1954 was bought from The Leicester Galleries for the National Collection via the Tate Gallery committee of Sir Robert Adeane and Sir William Coldstream..

            Finding that he was adding more and more sculpture to his various exhibitions of paintings and drawings, he was working toward a show of large works in elm wood when a broken wrist, sustained in a car accident, put an end to the project. Now, unable to sculpt, he turned his attention to writing, penning over 700 articles for magazines and newspapers (including the Financial Times), mainly on the subjects of wine and vines.

            He was several times the subject of Jeanine McMullen’s BBC Radio 4 programme “A Small Country Living”.

            He is the author of "Vines in your Garden" (Argus Books), author/illustrator of "The Best Wine in the Super Market" and the first three editions of "The Best Wine Buys in the High Street" (Foulsham), author and part illustrator of "The Oldie Cookbook" (The Carbery Press), author/illustrator and part photographer of "Vines and Wines in a Small Garden" (The Herbert Press/A & C Black), "Wines from a Small Garden" (Abbeville Press, New York/Bloomsbury), its second edition translation into Dutch, "Druif en wijn uit eigen tuin" (Schuyt, Haarlem), "Guide to a Dockland of Change" (The Mudlark Press), "Canary Wharf and Sights from Docklands Light Rail" (The Mudlark Press), "Dockland Buildings Old and New" (The Mudlark Press), "Cooking in Docklands Past and Present" (The Mudlark Press) and "Harbours, Girls and a Slumbering World" (The Mudlark Press).

            In the early 1960s he bought a warehouse on the Thames in Limehouse and converted it to two studios, wanting to live in the district from which he had worked on coasters as a supernumerary. This turned out to be the first warehouse in Docklands to be converted into living accommodation.

            One-time member of the Circle of Wine Writers, he is a member of The Society of Authors.

            Referred to by Punch as a Reformation man, and even 'new age man' by the BBC, he has behind him considerable experiences in life. These include: volunteer fireman, farm labourer, prop-swinger, RAF pilot, medical student, art student, matelot supernumerary, scene painter at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, set designer for the theatre and television, designer for children's theatre and television, house designer and builder, world traveller, painter, fruit picker, house husband/father, vineyard owner and vigneron, sculptor, author, illustrator, sound and television broadcaster (the subject of two Gardeners' World programmes for BBC2 and also for Southern and Cable Television), photographer and publisher.

            The author now lives with his Dutch wife, Margreet, on the borders of Hammersmith and Chiswick, London, where he has returned to painting (pastels, small and large) after a break that consisted of two years of sculpture and 25 years of writing. The subjects of his pastels are his garden, the shadows of aircraft, the relationships between the hulls of ships in and out of water, kites and landscape recalled. He continues to write a Blog (www.webpageroberts.blogspot.com) from which there are links to his paintings, sculpture and books.

            In 2006 his 1954 painting of Chelsea Football Ground sold for £33,600 at Christie’s Salerooms, South Kensington, London.

            Since returning to painting (pastels) he had a very successful exhibition, entitled Aircraft Shadows, at the Mayor Gallery in Cork Street, London, from November 23rd until December 18^th 2009. 

            At Christie’s, in December 2010, a 1964 painting of Tower Bridge with a ship offloading was sold for £7,500, and a collage with paint for £2,250, the latter joining a collection where it replaced a Matisse on the wall. He has sold through the Offer Waterman Gallery. He continues to sell with success to private collectors and at Christie’s.

            On June 2, 2014, as Guest of Honour, he gave the opening speech at Guildhall Art Gallery where 17 of his paintings were exhibited in the Tower Bridge: A Celebration of 120 Years exhibition (exhibition dates 2 June 2014 to 26 April 2015).

MIXED EXHIBITIONS

1955, SOCIETY OF MARINE ARTISTS

1955, DAILY EXPRESS YOUNG ARTISTS

1955 WESSEX ARTISTS

1956 LEICESTER GALLERIES

1956 LEICESTER GALLERIES

1956 REDFERN GALLERY

1957 LEICESTER GALLERIES

1957 GALLERIE DE SEINE

1958 GALLERIE DE SEINE

1958 GALLERIE DE SEINE

2014-2015 GUILDHALL ART GALLERY

ONE MAN EXHIBITIONS

1957 GALLERIE DE SEINE, WEST HALKIN STREET, LONDON

1960 REID GALLERY, CORK STREET, LONDON

1961 KINTETSU GALLERY, OSAKA, JAPAN

1969 QANTAS GALLERY, BOND STREET, LONDON

1977 CAMBRIDGE CENTRAL LIBRARY, CAMBRIDGE

1989 LOFT GALLERY, STANSTEAD ABBOTTS (sculpture)

2009 MAYOR GALLERY, CORK STREET, LONDON

NATIONAL COLLECTION:

Tower Bridge from Bermondsey Wharf 1954.