John joins the Cheshire set

JOHN THOMPSON with one of his paintings

AN Oldham-born artist whose work is some of the most sought-after in Britain is now giving a major exhibition in Cheshire.

More than 75 paintings by John Thompson will go on show at the Clark Art gallery in Hale from September 11 to September 30.

In April, 2006, a book entitled “Do You Like ’em Then?” was published about John and the exhibition to launch the book in Manchester attracted huge crowds.

John, who is developing a worldwide following, was born in Salem in 1924 and grew up in a typical working class northern environment.

He left school early and worked in a succession of jobs but he always enjoyed drawing and painting.

The turning point in his life came in 1980 when, aged 56, he decided to become a full-time artist after being made redundant from his job as manager of a furniture store.

Times were hard but John slowly built up a following and at this time he sold mainly landscape paintings.

In 1987 he had another life-changing moment. He saw a lithograph of people queuing at a soup kitchen in New York during the Great Depression.

This was the start of a series of paintings which have become his trademark and have made him famous.

In 2002 the House of Lords bought three works from this series and they are now hanging in the committee rooms.

As well as groups of men, John paints landscapes, abstracts, nudes and still-life.

Most of his work is described as mixed media because he experiments freely with oil, acrylic, water-colour and other materials.

John has found success relatively late in life but he is revelling it. He has moved from the terrace house where he lived for 50 years into a detached bungalow in Mossley.

He has always loved cars and now drives a sporty red BMW.