John Stanton Ward RA RWS

1917 - 2007

An outstanding portrait artist and architectural draughtsman, John Ward had an easy, elegant drawing style that captured his subjects with attractive, economical lines, no doubt a natural gift honed after initial study at Hereford School of Art, at the Royal College of Art (RCA) under Gilbert Spencer. From a relatively poor background, it took personal sponsorship by the RCA Principal, Sir William Rothenstein, to get John Ward to the RCA. In 1939, he won the coveted RCA prize for drawing, using the £5 prize money to pay off his debts to the College. Ward went on to use his talent for drawing to design pillbox fortifications in World War II. After the war, his illustrations achieved great success, but it was as a portrait painter to the rich, famous and royalty that he became best known, becoming particularly associated with the Prince and Princess of Wales. Ward was made a CBE and became a prominent Royal Academician. Like many of his generation, Ward was a great letter writer, illustrating envelopes and letters with elegant sketches, which many of us who knew him were lucky enough to receive.