Born: 1922. Nationality: British. Died 2008

Fred Yates was born in Urmston, a suburb of Manchester. On leaving school he joined his family’s insurance company as a clerk; in 1941 he was drafted into the Grenadier Guards and fought with the allied forces in the liberation of Brussels.

After the end of the war he decided to train as a teacher and enrolled on a teacher training course in Bournemouth, studying art as his main subject. He taught for about twenty years, initially in Brighton and then in Cornwall where in 1969 he decided to become a full-time painter.

His early work, featuring busy streets and harbour-side quays bustling with people, was compared with that of his fellow Mancunian L S Lowry, however, he became increasingly influenced by the art of Cezanne, Monet and, in particular, Van Gogh. He made several painting trips to France and his work, quickly painted, usually en plein air, became more intense and vibrant, leading to greater commercial success; eventually in 1996 at the age of 74, moved to France permanently.

Yates exhibited at several galleries in the UK as well as in France and Switzerland; he was represented by the John Martin Gallery in London between 2003 and 2015. His work is in many private collections in the UK, France, Canada and the USA.

 

Light on the Downs