Prunella Clough

Prunella Clough (14 November 1919 – 26 December 1999) was a prominent British artist. She is known mostly for her paintings, though she also made prints and created assemblages of collected objects. She was awarded the Jerwood Prize for painting, and received a retrospective exhibition at Tate Britain. Background Born on 14 November 1919 in Chelsea, London to an affluent upper-middle-class family, she was initially educated privately by her father, the poet Eric Taylor, before enrolling as a part-time student at the Chelsea School of Art (now Chelsea College of Art and Design) in 1937. In 1938, she took classes at Chelsea with the sculptor Henry Moore. Her aunt was Irish designer Eileen Gray. Clough lived in London throughout her career. Career Apart from wartime service, during which she worked as a cartographer for the Office of War Information, Clough painted full-time until her death in 1999, supplementing her income with teaching posts at Chelsea (1956–69) and Wimbledon School of Art (1966-97). The Clough-Taylor family often holidayed in Southwold, and in 1945 Clough's mother Thora Clough purchased Woldside house in Southwold, which became an important base for the artist until it was sold after Thora's death in 1966. Clough retained strong links with the area throughout her career; the coastal landscape, a local quarry, and fishermen at nearby Lowestoft and Yarmouth harbours provided significant early subjects. Clough also produced a number of still lifes. Clough had her first solo show at the Leger Gallery in London in 1947. In 1951, Clough participated in the exhibition 60 Paintings for '51, organised by the Arts Council to coincide with the 1951 Festival of Britain, for which they commissioned 60 artists to produce paintings of 4 by 5 feet or more. Clough's submission was entitled Lowestoft Harbour (1951), a painting of two fishermen weighing a catch of fish. The painting was subsequently purchased by the Arts Council Collection. Clough's early subject matter led to her being linked with Neo-Romantic artists such as John Minton and Michael Ayrton. From the 1950s onwards, she increasingly painted the industrial landscapes of post-WWII Britain. Although based in London, she made frequent trips to East Anglia and the Midlands. During the 1950s, Clough became close friends with the painter and critic John Berger; they went drawing together in the marshalling yards at Willesden Junction.