BiographyPast Exhibitions
Available Works
23 Mar - 23 Apr 2005
When Vincent Bennett died in 1993 he left behind a studio of paintings, drawings and prints, few of which had ever been exhibited outside the West of England. His dislike of publicity, a stubborn unwillingness to conform and an endearing lack of confidence in his own abilities meant that the work of an extraordinary artist and exceptional printmaker has remained largely unknown outside a small group of collectors in Britain and America.
Bennett was born in 1910 and apart from a brief spell in London in the 1930's (working first as a scenery painter and then a professional boxer), lived in Plymouth for the whole of his life. After suffering total amnesia after a severe beating at a contest held at the Royal Albert Hall, Bennett returned to Plymouth and took up drumming for various jazz bands in some of the rougher bars and clubs of the city. Having studied for a while at Plymouth Art School (alongside Cecil Collins) he began taking evening classes at the local college and soon began to paint and draw the incidents from his own life and historical fantasies, scenes from literature and the cinema which characterised all his later work.
A dark, dry humour runs through Bennett's painting and his quick imagination and robust style seemed to delight in tall tales and pub banter. In 1945, he married Mary Hemingway whose faith in his ability as a painter has remained unshakeable. This exhibition is therefore not only a tribute to a remarkable artist but also to the support and encouragement she provided throughout his life.
