John Luke (artist) facts for kids

John Luke (born January 19, 1906 – died February 4, 1975) was a talented Irish artist. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. John was one of eight children. His family was originally from Ahoghill.

He went to Hillman Street National School. In 1920, he started working at a flax spinning company. Soon after, he became a riveter at a shipyard. While working, he took evening art classes at the Belfast College of Art.

Early Life and Art Training

John Luke was very good at art college. His teachers, Seamus Stoupe and Newton Penpraze, helped him a lot. Other artists like Romeo Toogood and Colin Middleton were also studying there.

In 1927, John won a special award called the Dunville Scholarship. This award allowed him to study at the famous Slade School of Art in London. There, he learned about painting and sculpture. He was taught by the well-known artist Henry Tonks. Tonks greatly helped John improve his drawing skills.

Starting His Art Career

John Luke stayed at the Slade School until 1930. That year, he won another award, the Robert Ross Scholarship. After leaving Slade, he stayed in London. He wanted to become a successful artist.

For a while, he shared a flat with another artist from Northern Ireland, F.E. McWilliam. John also took part-time classes at the Westminster School of Art. He learned how to do wood-engraving there.

He started showing his artwork to the public. In October 1930, he showed two paintings, The Entombment and Carnival. These were part of an art show at Leger Galleries. A famous art critic liked his painting Carnival very much.

However, times were tough financially. By the end of 1933, John had to move back to Belfast. This was because of a difficult economic period. He stayed in Belfast, except for a time during World War II. During the war, he moved to Killylea, County Armagh.

Art Style and Technique

John Luke painted in a style called Regionalism (art). This style focused on showing scenes from everyday life in specific regions. Other artists who used this style included Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood.

John Luke's painting method was very careful and slow. He was very precise in his work. He once wrote that he liked to focus on one task at a time. He wanted to put all his thought and effort into making each piece perfect. This careful approach was also clear in how he looked and acted. He was always neat and tidy.

Inspiration and Other Artworks

Besides being an artist, John Luke also taught at the Belfast College of Art sometimes. He taught many students, especially helping them with their drawing.

Even though he was mainly a painter, he also made sculptures. One example is his Stone Head, Seraph from around 1940. This sculpture is now in the Ulster Museum. He even won an award for sculpture at the Slade School.

John was also very interested in ideas about art. In the 1930s, he read books by famous art thinkers. These books helped him think deeply about art.

Exhibitions and Public Art

From the late 1930s to 1943, John Luke painted less. This was probably because he moved to County Armagh to avoid the Belfast Blitz during the war.

In 1946, he had his first solo art show. It was held at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery. Two years later, he had another show in Belfast.

In 1950, he received a big job. He was asked to paint a large mural in the Belfast City Hall. This mural showed the history of the city. It was painted to celebrate the Festival of Britain in 1951. This important work made many more people aware of his art.

Later, he got more requests for murals. He painted one in the Masonic Hall in 1956. He also painted one at the College of Technology in the 1960s. He also carved special designs for two Governors of Northern Ireland. John Luke was also a member of the Royal Ulster Academy.

Later Life and Legacy

John Luke passed away in Belfast on February 4, 1975. He was 68 years old.

In 1978, a special exhibition of his artworks was held at the Ulster Museum. This show looked back at his entire career. Since then, his art has become even more famous. Many of his former students remember him as a gentle teacher. They recall his perfectly tidy art studio at the College of Art.

Understanding His Art

John Luke was a quiet and private person. His art showed a unique view of the world. He was an amazing draughtsman, meaning he was excellent at drawing. You can see this in his early Self-portrait from around 1927. This drawing shows his precise and strong lines. Another Self-portrait from the same time, painted with oils, also shows this skill.

His focus on clear lines is also seen in The Lustre Jug (1934). In this painting, he enjoyed showing the different textures of the objects. This painting was part of a special exhibition in Belfast in 1934. This might have been his only time experimenting with very modern art ideas. Otherwise, he preferred traditional art styles. He was inspired by early Italian Renaissance masters like Piero della Francesca and Botticelli. He was especially interested in their use of tempera paint.

In the mid to late 1930s, John Luke started to focus more on shapes and structures in his art. One of his first paintings to show this change was Connswater Bridge (1934). In this work, he placed large shapes next to each other in a very styled way. Yet, you can still clearly see the actual scene.

Two years later, in 1936, he painted The Bridge. In this painting, his technique was very mature. His use of flowing lines and shapes matched the rolling landscape. The colors were bright, and the mood felt hopeful. However, this happy mood did not last long. By the next year, in The Fox, his mood had changed. A serious feeling began to appear in his art.

The very strict style seen in The Fox became his signature look for over ten years. During this time, he created some of his most memorable paintings. These include The Road to the West (1944) and The Old Callan Bridge (1945). In The Road to the West, his treatment of the landscape was very original. It felt like a discovery, fitting the mood of the time. The Callan Bridge painting shows him in a lighter mood. However, the dark colors in the hedges might hint at a deeper, changing feeling.

By the late 1940s and early 1950s, John Luke became very focused on his painting technique. Paintings like The Three Dancers (1945) and Northern Rhythm (1946) are technically brilliant. However, some people wondered if they lacked deep meaning. These works seemed to be mostly about showing off his skill.

The murals he painted in the City Hall and Masonic Hall in the early 1950s were almost his last major paintings. After that, he did little new work. He had an unfinished mural at the Millfield Technical College. He also carved coats-of-arms for the Governors of Northern Ireland.

John Luke was a quiet person. His simple lifestyle might have drained his energy by the mid-1950s. Perhaps he also lost some confidence. This was a time when modern art was becoming very popular. It was different from the traditional art values he believed in. Today, as art styles change again, John Luke's traditional values are seen as appealing and comforting.

Books About John Luke

• John Luke (artist) 1906-1975 (Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, 1978)
• Northern Rhythm: The Art of John Luke (1906-1975), Joseph McBrinn, National Museums Northern Ireland, 2012.