Fordingbridge Art Club
Established 1946
We welcome artists of all abilities - from beginners to professionals - who enjoy a shared enthusiasm for art.
Members get together once or twice a month to enjoy demonstrations, workshops, life drawing and plein air events. It's a chance for a chat and to learn new techniques and improve skills.
Members are welcome to showcase their work on our online gallery and at our annual exhibition where the public is invited to browse or buy original art, prints and cards created by members.
The Committee
President
Willard Balthazar
Treasurer
Paul Harding
Programme Manager
Valerie Nerva
Plein Air Events Manager
Carolyn Pearce
Exhibition Manager
Lucinda Nicholas
Fordingbridge Art Club and Augustus John OM RA
The Art Club was formed in 1946 by a group of artists including Augustus John OM RA and his partner Dorelia McNeil who donated the Augustus John trophy to the Club.
Augustus John moved to the New Forest in 1927 and his home at Fryern Court, Fordingbridge, became an open house for travelling artists.
His subjects included Lawrence of Arabia, who also lived in the Forest in the 1920s, Dylan Thomas, W. B. Yeats, Thomas Hardy and Luisa Casati (Marchesa Casati).
Augustus John OM RA
Photo courtesy Michael Dibb
A bronze statue of Augustus John, created by Ivor Roberts-Jones in 1964-7, stands on a limestone plinth on the east bank of the river Avon in Fordingbridge.