John Lewis STANT

John Lewis STANT
Jack
1905
1964

John Lewis Stant was born in Dudley, Staffordshire, the son of a local butcher. Known as Jack to his family, he married Dorothy Cash in Birmingham in 1934, settling in St Ives later that year. He exhibited a collection of his etchings at Lanhams Five Guinea Christmas Exhibition in 1935. He gifted work as a prize for the STISA 1935 Arts Ball, and exhibited again at Lanhams in 1938 - although he is thought to have left St Ives by then. Stant was a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.

At the time of the 1939 Register he is recorded as living with his wife in Birmingham, and he was described as an aircraftsman with the Royal Air Force. His wife changed her name in 1941, suggesting that they had got  divorced. He is believed to have returned to visit St Ives in 1947. That year he was charged at Cambridgeshire Sessions with obtaining money, goods and board and lodging under false pretences and was bound over for 12 months.

A number of Stant's etchings and coloured engravings of Cornish subjects, in particular those of Polperro, are dated 1953-4. In 1956 he and a partner had a business selling anemones which they were growing in St Ives. This venture was short-lived as he obtained money from customers without delivering the goods, and was consequently jailed for six months by Sutton Coldfield magistrates. After his release he moved to Tonbridge in Kent, where he died in 1964. 

A recent correspondent (2012) has found a painting in his garage by this artist, the subject of which was a local boatbuilder J W Smith of Appledore, North Devon. A more recent correspondent (2016) writes: 'I have a painting by above named artist, the painting is named Harbour Scene and is dated Newlyn 1953. This painting is of pencil/watercolour.' A correspondent in 2019 has told us of two artist's proofs in her possession. They are stamped 'Warwick Galleries', signed 'J Lewis Stant' and entitled 'Tenby Harbour' and 'A Welsh Farmyard, Ewenny'. A correspondent in 2022 has told us of 'Birthplace of Bishop Vesey, Sutton Coldfield' - an artwork by J Lewis Stant which she purchased many years ago, as a gift for a family member.

A further correspondent (2022) has written to let us know of the following etchings by John Lewis Stant, an uncle by marriage. He inherited them from his stepmother, who was given them by the artist. They are: 'Tenby Harbour & St Botolph's Church, Boston'; 'The Jetty, St Mawes' - 1943; 'Upstream Polperro' - 1947; and 'Mevagissey' - the latter two being colour etchings.

We have heard of three coloured etchings by Stant from a correspondent in 2022, inherited from his grandparents who lived in the Herne Bay area. They are entitled 'Weavers House, Canterbury' and 'New Inn, Clovelly' with the subject of the third being the inside of Canterbury Cathedral. 

In 2023 we were contacted by a correspondent who has a stamped and signed image by the artist entitled 'The Dart at Dittisham' featuring the Ferry Hotel.

A correspondent (2024) has been in touch to tell us of two signed engravings by the artist, 'Bishops Bridge Norwich' (1937) and 'Richmond Castle' (1938).

We were contacted later in 2024 by the great-great-nephew of the artist. He and his wife (who are based in the Black Country) have two original Stant watercolours and over 30 hand-tinted etchings. They were able to confirm that, according to family lore, he is remembered as a colourful character!

media

Etcher, painter of landscapes in pencil and watercolour

works and access

Works include: Some Corners of old St Ives (1934);  Herring Fishing, St Ives (1935 ); Barrack Quay, Falmouth; Scene at Smith's Boatyard, Appledore; Low Tide, Polperro; The Harbour, Polperro;

Access to Work: Falmouth Art Gallery

exhibitions

B (19); RBA (2); RCA (8); RHA 3); RSA (2)

Walsall 1931

Lanham's Five Guinea Christmas Exhibition1934, 1938

1935 Arts Ball

Birmingham 1936

memberships

STISA 1935-1937

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA)

Royal Society of British Artists (RBA)

Royal Cambrian Academy (RCA)

Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA)

Royal Scottish Academy (RSA)

references

Hardie (2009) Artists in Newlyn and West Cornwall (p347)

Johnson and Greutzner (2008)

Tovey (2003) Creating a Splash;

Tovey (2021) Polperro - Cornwall's Forgotten Art Centre - Volume Two - Post-1920, Wilson Books

website: 'Coventry Now and Then'Trinity Lane, Coventry