Last month, we received the sad news that Tom Coates PPNEAC PPPS PPRBA RP HonRWA RWS PPSEA OAS APF PatronMAS had passed away.
Our deepest sympathy to his wife Mary Jackson NEAC RWS and to all of Tom's family.
Tom was one of the 'titans' of the NEAC, a Past President and long-time 'Chief Hanger' at our Annual Exhibitions.
He was a real character and a showman who was greatly loved and admired, and who will be much missed by his fellow NEAC members – many of whom share their memories and tributes below . . .
Peter Brown:
"We all loved Tom to bits. He was an incredibly kind man. He was wonderfully quirky. He was utterly huggable.
"His paintings are remarkable. They are brave. I stood in awe at his painting at the NEAC show in Bath earlier this year. It was of a wall – yards of it, seemingly – and yet delicious and interesting.
'The Church Walls, Tavira' (oil on canvas, 61 x 123cm, from the NEAC's 'Capturing Life' exhibition at Bath's Victoria Art Gallery, 2022)
"He seemed to be able to make a painting out of anything – constantly inspired by the visual world, yet never a slave to it. In each and every one of his paintings, he showed us just how good oil paint is, and how much he loved it. The same, of course, goes for his pastels. And then there are his watercolours, and his sketchbooks . . . Don’t we all clamber to look through one of those when we get a chance! He loved painting: acquiring it, making it, teaching it and encouraging it.
"We loved his company and he loved everyone else’s. He reminded us that the NEAC is a family and that we should look after each other. His deep voice would command the Mall Galleries and serve him and all of us well when it was spontaneously turned to song. Could he sing!
"I felt a real affection for Tom. He was very supportive and generous. I know there are hundreds out there, that he was equally kind, to who feel the same. We have his wonderful paintings and drawings, but we will miss that personality so much at our events which he diligently attended. They were never complete without Tom and Mary in the room.
'Mary Painting in the Kitchen' (oil, 71 x 81 cm, NEAC Annual Exhibition 2019)
"I’ll miss seeing him when popping in to scoop up his and Mary’s paintings at the studio or meeting them (and one of Mary’s bacon sarnies) at Chieveley Services. I remember him telling me one early morning in the services car park he was now an OBE. As I took a photo of him embracing Mary, he explained, ‘Over Bloody Eighty!’
"I’ve always known Mary and Tom’s home to be full of love. The kettle, like the Aga, always on. The house, the garden, the studio, the furniture, the paintings and everything about it, are Mary and Tom, and it is a treat to sit at the dining table and soak it all in – the mix of family life and art.
"Tom is irreplaceable. He had us all under his spell. There will be a hole at our next Critics’ Lunch."
'Homage to Leonardo's Last Supper with Bernard Shaw as Christ and Virginia Woolf as Mary Magdalene, Together with the Bloomsbury Group'
Patrick Cullen:
"Tom was a wonderful artist and brilliant draughtsman. He could work in any medium and his skill as a portrait painter, capturing the essence of his sitter with an expressive fluency, was a marvel to witness. I was fortunate to work with him on many occasions at the ‘Art in Action’ events (sadly no longer extant) held at Waterperry in Oxfordshire and at Townley Hall, County Louth, in the Republic of Ireland. Tom would always draw a big crowd, mainly because of his art, but also because he was a great entertainer. He had a wonderful dry, sometimes mischievous wit which was sharp but not cruel.
"It was at ‘Art in Action’ that I first met Tom and he immediately made a vital impact on my artistic career. I was demonstrating in pastels, and he was at that time President of the Pastel Society. I noticed a couple of times he was watching me with a serious and thoughtful look, and then at some point with an almost throwaway compliment, he let me know I should put work in for their next show at the Mall. It was typical of the generous interest he took in younger painters, encouraging and appreciative, but always with that slightly sardonic inflexion, or perhaps one of his deadpan winks, lest you took him (and yourself) too seriously. I loved that about him and will miss him hugely. We have all lost a very big character and a massive talent."
'Washing Down the Horses' (pastel)
Salliann Putman:
"The place – Mall Galleries.
The props – three studio easels (one bearing a large canvas, the second a large piece of pastel paper, and the third a roll of watercolour paper – large enough to portray a life-size portrait).
The cast - John Deston and Tom Coates.
The stage was set.
"Enter Tom, moving towards the table where oil paint, pastels and watercolours were laid out. In addition to the tools of his trade was a bottle of red wine. We knew that we were in for a very special experience.
"Tom invited his sitter, and John Deston sashayed across the gallery to his seat.
What followed was totally amazing and absolutely inspirational. Within one hour, Tom painted three portraits of John – an oil, a pastel and a watercolour. Whilst doing so, we heard many amusing tales – all acted out by Tom – and watched as the entire bottle of wine was consumed.
"Tom worked at speed. The energy of every mark was breathtaking. This was a master at work – loving his trade and giving life to painting. Tom was ‘on stage’ and responding to his enthusiastic audience. He loved every moment. It was a performance I will never forget.
"Before the curtain went down, John was invited to select a painting to take home. He found it hard to choose but I seem to remember that he chose the pastel.
"Thank you, Tom and John, for a brilliant performance."
Felicity House:
"Tom was my mentor and a wonderful friend. He had the remarkable ability to work in oils, pastels and watercolours with equal fluency and regardless of subject – be it horses or portraits, townscapes or coast – he was master of his painting craft. Watching Tom paint was an inspiration to so many over the years and his workshops were always full.
"Years ago, on a school teaching half term, I managed to secure a place on a week’s
painting course steered by Tom at Phillips House, and went along with my drawing kit and watercolour paints. I had absolutely no idea about painting the figure in oils, and watched – with envious curiosity – Tom and the other oil painters, with their French box easels, paint from marvellous models and narratives set up by Tom. What he generated was quite magical.
"My own efforts were noticed, and like so many others, I felt terrifically encouraged. Whenever the opportunity arose, I returned to learn more. Tom taught by example, painting alongside us with a running commentary of artistic anecdotes. And when he wasn’t at his easel, he prodigiously made fluent drawings in his leatherbound sketchbooks. I found him straight-spoken but always exuding great warmth, kindness and generosity of spirit.
"Tom loved theatrical entertainment and, much to our delight, evenings had him in top form, wearing his Tommy Cooper fez in full performance, always hysterically funny. Tom’s total dedication to painting was never more evident than at his Summerleaze workshops where, following a full day working from the figure and our tea break, Tom would encourage us to enjoy a further hour painting a portrait of one of the children just home from school. After dinner, we would be back in the studio with a sitter or flowers to paint, Tom always in full animated painting flow.
"For many years, a dedicated group of us continued to work with Tom once a year in Holt, Norfolk and latterly on location in Sommières, France where Tom liked nothing more than taking his pochade out and finding a spot to sit and paint. He had a great gift for making pictures work, often seeking an unusual viewpoint and could make a terrific painting from the most unpromising subject.
"With Tom, Mary and friends, they were most happy and productive times, full of learning and laughter. What a privilege to have met Tom. Such a huge influence. I’ll be grateful to him always."
'The Hurdles, Newbury' (oil, 20 x 25 inches)
Maurice Sheppard:
"Tom Coates was a tallish gangly chap when he became an Associate of the Royal Watercolour Society in 1983. Meeting him for the first time, in his dark blue suit, slightly crumpled, suggested that he had come for an interview, and was looking for a job. He still had that freshness about him of having come from ‘the provinces’. Was there something of Arts and Crafts Birmingham still attached to his coattails? His naturalness, reserve and quiet way were qualities that he built on.
"Then, he used to call me not just 'Mr President' – but 'Mr President, Sir' – frequently pulling on his forelock, and clicking his heels. The joke was on me. I invited him to participate in ‘Watercolours Now!’ – an exhibition of the Industrial Sponsors Committee, of which I was Selector, which coincided with my election to the Presidency of the Royal Watercolour Society. I wrote to him on the 13th of February 1984 asking him to show, and he replied, 'I shall be pleased to help out with 4 to 6 works.'
"Tom's talents and adaptability were pressed into use immediately. Our Public Relations advisers, the Eric Clark Consultancy, had a major client who was a well-known dog food producer. Would we have a painter to paint the dog, that might win a national competition? Could he travel to, Salford, Seaford, Swansea or Budleigh Salterton to paint the ‘prize dog’ – wherever it was found?
"'Yes!' Tom offered, as he did, to fulfil another project involving racehorses. Tom could draw horses, and not many artists can. This proved to be a portent of things to come and his Kentucky adventures. Promotion, sponsorship, and outreach were areas in which he was happy to be involved as the ’painter on the spot’, he confronted much that was ‘odd’, with a fluid sense of invention and much playfulness.
"The Trusthouse Forte Group offered us a teaching project with residential courses. Here, Tom worked harmoniously with colleagues such as Hans Schwarz and Jane Corsellis. He was someone who loved collaborating with other artists, where not many do.
"Tom grew in stature, working in a number of art societies. With each medium he tackled, he added strength to his drawing, and this fed into his painting. He turned into the artist who became President of the New English Art Club through so much ‘backroom graft’ in both the structural and aesthetic sides of the Club's working life. He was a wonderful ‘Senior Hanger’ and a fair and supportive judge in both club committees as well as in national competitions. Who could not respond to such a character – one progressively so ebullient?
"The figure who emerged, as he went along, had become more urbane. He was now clad in cream chinos, linen jackets, patterned shirts – their collars turned out – with the flamboyant touch of a lemon silk handkerchief in his top pocket. Despite projecting himself as a ‘showman’ character, there was also a dark side to Tom's character – inner troubles, and even anxieties with his eyesight, but the warmth of his personality, and his response to people covered these away.
"Following in the footsteps of Ken Howard as President brought out the very best in Tom. He led us all to exhibit with his generous American friends in Kentucky, with a London Merchant Bank, and with numerous private galleries. It was a loss to the Royal Academy that they did not find Tom a place next to Ken as a Member. We benefitted consequently, as we had someone who led by example, and marched forward, viewing our own route over our own ground with confidence.
"Tom had a very good working relationship with David Wolfers, at the New Grafton Gallery on Bond Street and in Barnes. In his exhibitions, Tom followed the pattern of Ken Howard's shows, which consisted of around 40 oils and 20 watercolours. The oils ranged from 26 x 48 inches, with substantial groups of works at 12 x 10 inches or 8 x 10 inches, to his watercolours, ranging down to 5 x 7 inches. He thought of his followers and friends who wanted to buy something of his world of ‘living and travel’ to carry home with them to cheer their lives. Tom was generous to us all.
"It is easy to see Tom's work grow out of the world of his teachers and friends. From Peter Greenham and his many pupils to Ruskin Spear and painterly colleagues like Bernard Dunstan, Rodney Burn, Fred Cuming and others. With the publication of Kenneth McConkey's book ‘The New English’ in 2006, Mr McConkey has well defined the Club, but he also defined a very worthy ‘School of Painting’.
"When we go to a Coates exhibition, we look for those revealing moments in paint – his wife, Mary Jackson, sitting on some terrace, painting in wonderful continental light, was always a special subject of his. Perhaps another image might be one of Mary's daughter, Julie, similarly caught off-guard, looking intensely at a distant landscape from some sheltered spot. These were subjects close to Tom's heart. Tom's subject matter was truly embracing in its content, as was the man himself."
'Enjoying a Pint' (oil, 38 x 38 cm, NEAC Annual Exhibition 2021)
Michael Weller:
"I met Tom in a café in Winchester. He came over because I was drawing. He talked to my mother – I liked him for that.
"When I was an NEAC Scholar in 2014, I asked Tom if I could visit his studio. He said yes immediately. When I went, it was pouring. Tom picked me up from the train station and we talked about a book on painting. He said it wasn’t very good. I said, well, the pictures were nice. He said no, they weren’t.
"We were sitting at Tom and Mary's kitchen table. Their dog lying quiet nearby. Mary gave me soup and bread. Looking at my paintings. 'Make the lines go to the edge,' Tom said. 'Do not varnish, it kills the paint,' they both agreed. Mary held a painting and said you could sell that. Tom looked cross. They talked about Julie, Mary’s daughter, Tom’s stepdaughter. 'Very good painter,' Tom said.
"Later we looked at his books on Vuillard and Bonnard, who I revered – we had that in common, he said, softening a bit. Tom and I went to his studio and looked at books of watercolours and drawings. The lines crackled with impatient energy. You could tell they were by him.
"Tom’s dad had chucked him out when he was a young lad. At art college, he was sleeping in a doorway. The teachers helped him. He’d sold pictures to the Queen Mother. They were friends. His beautiful sketchbooks, rapid drawings, watercolours.
"When he shared his studio with Mary, he liked to listen to the cricket. Sometimes Mary sighed. He asked if she minded. She said no, it was fine.
"Outspoken, putting his foot in it, friendly, funny. Beautiful painter."
'Model in the Studio' (pastel, 72 x 104 cm, Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2018)
Charles Hardaker:
"A marvellous painter and a wonderful person, friendly to all, and of great good humour. A stalwart for all figurative painters and, in particular, a great supporter of ‘Art in Action’ during its existence."
June Berry:
"Tom was first and foremost such a fine painter. He was also one of the kindest and most caring people I've ever met. He had such a generous nature and was so welcoming to new members of the NEAC, and I also remember him being a fine carver of the ham at many NEAC Christmas parties."
Demonstrating his legendary ham-carving skills (cooked by Mary, carved by Tom)
LORNA VAHEY:
"I will always be grateful for the kindness, encouragement and help he gave me when I was attempting to become a member."
Melissa Scott-Miller:
"Tom was a wonderful person, as well as a great artist. He was very supportive of many artists and helped me a lot, introducing me to the Cross Gate Gallery in Kentucky, and encouraging me to go out there and be Artist in Residence as he had done. It was so inspiring to see the work he had done there which was so admired. I became a member of the NEAC during his Presidency and witnessed his incredible skills in hanging exhibitions such as the RP show. He was extremely generous with his time and his work and had a great sense of humour."
'Mary in Egypt' (oil, 102 cm x 122 cm, NEAC Annual Exhibition 2020'
Benjamin Hope:
"Tom was an inspiration to me — probably my favourite painter in fact — ever since I used to watch him work at ‘Art in Action’ when I was a child. It was my Mum, who died a couple of weeks before Tom, who used to take me to ‘Art in Action’ every year. We would always begin the day by visiting the painting tent where Tom would be working and then return at the end of the day to see how his painting had progressed. Mum loved Tom's work too and even in the last couple of years I would send images to her, with comments like “Still got it!” He was brilliant, so very assured, a superb tonalist but also a first-rate draughtsman."
Jacqueline Williams:
"An early memory I have of Tom was at a small dinner party which included Ken Howard. They were a brilliant double act and kept us entertained all evening, culminating in Tom challenging me to an ice-cream-eating competition – ill-advised but a worthy opponent! A great artist and a kind, generous, humorous fellow painter. One of the great figureheads of the New English Art Club. The NEAC lunches and dinners won’t be the same without him. He really made them fun. He had such energy for life which showed in his beautiful paintings."
'Telling a Yarn, The Cornish Fisherman' (oil, 91 x 61 cm, RP Annual Exhibition 2022)
Richard Sorrell:
"A great man. A brilliant instinctive painter. A wonderful organiser. A good friend.
"I met Tom after he'd joined the RWS but properly at ‘Art in Action’ in about 1983. He said to me, 'You can show your watercolours at the RWS, but have you got a society to show your oil paintings?' He suggested that I should join the RBA, of which he was President at the time. I did this and later on, joined the NEAC, and these societies have been good to me. I'm grateful to Tom for urging me on in this way.
"Tom's encouragement of fellow artists was an admirable quality. This of course extended to the numerous societies of which he was President. He was never a 'safe pair of hands' as President, but always driving the institution forward, looking for opportunities and raising the society's prestige.
"I think that what I admired most about Tom was his extraordinary energy and enthusiasm. He could, for instance, go off on a painting trip and produce an amazing body of work in a short time. It was as if he lived and experienced the world through painting and drawing.
"When he was in public, he was a great showman – delighting in his dexterity and summoning up, as if by magic, brilliant images, to the wonder of all around him. But I once looked into his studio with him, and he was unexpectedly shy about his work.
"I remember with much happiness the trip that Sue and I made to Ilfracombe with Tom and Mary and a group of Dutch painters; great times at ‘Art in Action’ where we worked alongside each other, and spent long evenings at the campsite; I remember most enjoyable visits to their home and studio in Hurstbourne Tarrant.
"I'm so glad to have known Tom as an artist and as a friend. I will miss him very much. "
Diana Calvert:
"Tom was such an important figure, as a Member and later President of the New English Art Club, that to say he will be missed is wholly inadequate. His energy, generosity, and unwavering support for the NEAC and all its members are legendary. His wonderful paintings enhanced all the exhibitions, and the time and effort he put in as chief hanger over the years made all the difference to the shows."
Andrew Macara:
"Tom was the first living artist whose paintings I fell in love with. He was very supporting and invited me to join the NEAC when I was just setting out as a full-time artist. He will be missed very much from the art world."
'Overlooking Tinder Box Cove, Tasmania' (oil, 71 cm x w 86 cm, NEAC Annual Exhibition 2021)
FRANCIS BOWYER AND THE BOWYER FAMILY:
"What a loss to the New English Art Club; Tom was one of the titans! Not just supportive of the NEAC, with which he was so closely connected, but also many of the Societies that he belonged to, and helped shape through his skill and enthusiasm. Tom was generous with his time, and a lively, warm-hearted man who was an important part of the figurative art world, with his beautiful paintings over the many years. Thank you, Tom."
SUSAN RYDER:
"I treasure the memories of Tom and all that he gave in so many ways to fellow artists. He was, above all, a wonderful painter and we so love the 'Lute Players' I bought from him many years ago. He was truly modest and self-deprecating and just always helping and encouraging others. I don’t know how he found time to paint for himself! He was also such fun and great company. Thank you, Tom, for so much and for always hanging me so well! Your memory will live forever in your paintings."
TO FIND OUT MORE . . .
- See his NEAC artist profile page
- Read our interview with Tom Coates from 2018
