Artist’s tribute to loving wife

INSPIRED: Artist Bob Littleford with his work at Uppermill Museum and Art Gallery.

EXHIBITION IN MEMORY OF HILARY

A Saddleworth artist has launched a touching exhibition in memory of his dead wife.

Bob Littleford attributes his acclaimed success to the girl he first met on a blind date on the steps of Oldham Town Hall when he was only 20.

And although Hilary died two years ago, Bob has decided to dedicate an exhibition to the years of unstinting support and encouragement she gave him.

More than 40 of his works are on show at Saddleworth Museum and Art Gallery on Upper-mill’s High Street until later this month.

In a poignant note accompanying the exhibition, Bob reveals how, as a labourer, he met 21-year-old Hilary, then a sewing machinist, who lived with her father in a farm house in Dobcross.

The couple fell in love, married six months later and settled down in the village.

But Bob was driven by a searing passion to paint, and, in a joint decision with Hilary, he gave up his job as a refuse collector and became a full-time artist.

With her support and encouragement, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and then a member of the British Water Colour Society.

Another local painter Helen Bradley, who opened that exhibition, and the late jazz musician and broadcaster Humphrey Lyttleton, became in-stant admirers of Bob’s work.

But with the onset of the recession and Bob’s failing health which resulted in having a kidney removed, Hilary, a mother of three, took on a part-time job.

With the help of a new London-based agent, things began to improve for Bob but then tragedy stuck just three days after Christmas two years ago when Hilary died of cancer.

Bob (64), fought off severe depression after her death and now his current exhibition features a wide cross section covering more than 30 years of his work.

The note adds: “Bob sees this exhibition to commemorate Hilary as the catalyst and the reason it all began.

“The exhibition has pulled him through the most painful part of his life. Without Hilary, this would never have been possible.”

His son, Stuart, a television producer and journalist, said: “Mum stood by him right from the start.

“She constantly gave him encouragement and I am hopeful this will get dad to start painting again.

“The response to the exhibition from the public has been terrific. Two years ago, he won a contest in the Artist and Illustrator magazine beating off 45,000 entrants.”

Museum curator Peter Fox said: “Bob’s work is incredibly diverse, showing off his wide range of talents and different skills. His paintings are very popular.”