Harold Clayton

1896–1979

Harold Clayton was born into a family of artists in London. He came from an artistic family and was sent to art school in Hackney at an early age.

After graduating with distinction, he moved to Harrow Art School and completed the course, once again, with distinction. From here he was sent to Hornsey College of Art where he studied graphic design and commercial art.

Finally, Clayton went to St. Martin’s School of Art where he studied under the celebrated Art Master Norman Jones. This meeting had a profound effect on the path Clayton’s career ultimately took, leading to his exhibition of many oil paintings and watercolours at the Royal Academy.

His love for the garden and his meticulous attention to detail were the predominant forces which shaped his painting. Although he was versatile painter it is primarily for his still life flower paintings that he is known, despite the fact that he completed relatively few such paintings in his life. He painted approximately one painting per month, which accounts for both the scarcity of his still life paintings and their tremendous quality.

The level of realism achieved by Harold Clayton immediately strikes the viewer. Every flower reaches out with a triumphant display of summer’s palette. Dainty and young blooms reach upward in a military fashion, as those who have fully flourished hang heavily with a feel of self-importance and ultimate achievement.