Description
Fred Yates 1922-2008
This is a charming little oval painting, painted when Yates was based at the picturesque town of Fowey in Cornwall (70s and 80s), it shows his brilliance at fast outdoor impressionist painting. He has recently appeared on Antiques Roadshow and has several books dedicated to him, this has meant his name and value have soared, he is a very good investment artist and looks grate on the wall.
Artists History.
Fred Yates was born in Urmston, Lancashire, England in 1922. He began his working life as an insurance clerk, but his career was cut short by the Second World War, during which he served as a Grenadier Guard. His twin brother was killed during the failed attempt to capture the bridge at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden in September 1944.
After the war Yates took up painting on his return to Manchester – initially as a painter and decorator. It was whilst working in Manchester, and training to become a teacher, that Yates began painting – much in the vein of L. S. Lowry; although he strove for recognition in his own right, and achieved this in his later years. Yates has works in private collections in France, UK, Canada and the United States of America.
By 1970 Yates was living and working as a painter in Fowey, Cornwall, England. In Cornwall he painted almost exclusively outdoors – scenes of local village life, clifftop and beach scenes. It was around this period that Yates’ commercial success began after the “St Ives 1939-64” exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London.
In the early 1990s Yates moved to France to a small village called Rancon in Department 87, Haute-Vienne. Here he painted local scenes, one of his favourites being a small chapel in the woods just outside Rancon, called Saint-Sulpice. He both met and encouraged local artists and worked with British artists based in the area.
