Clarice Cliff Feature Articles

CAMPAIGNER FOR PEACE

Howard Watson, lifelong pacifist, conscientious objector and peace campaigner, who lived in Shipston, died on 5th February, aged 84.

Born in Coventry in 1930, Howard was well known as a talented abstract artist, who was highly respected among Midlands arts organisations.

In the commercial field, he was responsible for the original artwork for important local firms, both in exhibition stands and design at Earls Court, Olympia and the NEC, as well as design for print and the origination of brochures and point-of-sale literature.

He was also an active member of a number of important projects, in addition to his day-to-day work with Reverend Peter Berry, which saw the creation of the Leamington Community Relations Council, and the planning and development of the Leamington Peace Festival, which is still held annually on the Pump Room Gardens, and the White Swan Art Group.  More recently he assisted in the formation of the Shipston Community Arts Organisation, which brings together artists and craftspeople from a wide range of Warwickshire villages.

Formerly involved with the antiques world, a writer and journalist, and was father of Kris, Nenagh and Fenn.  Howard and Pat have four grand-children and lived together in Shipston for the past seven years.

Howard recently became a practicing Buddhist and this week his family said his sudden death at Warwick Hospital, following a stroke, had been a shock to them and their friends across the community, saying: “He will be mourned and missed for a very long time to come.”

A pacifist at peace, his funeral service will be at 2pm on Thursday, 19th February at Sun Rising Natural Burial Ground, Lower Tysoe.

The above late Howard Watson obituary appeared in the Stratford Herald, and I am indebted to Des Jones for informing us of this sad news.

Des Jones, formerly of Rich Designs recalled that Howard and his wife Pat were one of the first dealers in Clarice Cliff and other Art Deco pottery in the Midlands in the 1980’s.  There were several other Art Deco dealers at the time but they always had a lot of it on display at three regular fairs - Loughborough, Greenwich and Kensington.  Howard arranged the Warwick Museum Clarice Cliff Exhibition and he and his wife brought out their first Clarice Cliff book within a week of Leonard Griffin’s trail-blazing ‘The Bizarre Affair’ - a joint venture with Louis and Susan Meisel which was noticable for its sumptuous Clarice Cliff photography and it’s unusually large size!  Howard and Pat went on to produce more books on Clarice Cliff, which are regularly advertised on Ebay and Amazon websites.

In later life Howard was a prolific abstract artist who sold his work all over the world.  As Des said: “Howard was a man of many talents.”

We all send our sincere condolences to Pat.

Doreen Mann