4 THE ART OBSERVER May 2008 Feel Good and save £20! Can you help Printing.com plant 50,000 trees? In return they are happy to help you with your printing order. £20 off for Art Observer readers By Sue Astle HARRY OUSEY  believed that it is only possible to truly express the feeling of landscape and its atmosphere in terms of abstrac- tion, using texture, space and colour to create a mood or feel- ing. His work contains the rich- ness of nature, sombre shadows across deepening folds of hills, the unexpected brilliance of sun on water, the ever changing light patterns on walls, and the jewel-like colours of flowers still with dew on their petals. His painting life was devoted to capturing these sensations on paper or canvas. Harry Ousey was born in Rusholme, Manchester in November 1915, and his father died when Harry was a teenager. Harry seemed unable to settle in employment, being pushed in various directions by well meaning aunts and uncles. He rebelled; he was thinking about painting and had begun to visit art galleries whenever possible. He became a trainee architect in London which opened up a whole new world. The paintings of John Nash were a great influ- ence, and in 1936 he visited the first Surrealist exhibition in London at Burlington Galleries which had a lasting impact on him making his resolve to be an artist even greater. He began visiting places where he knew he could meet the new British and European artists of the time. The Second World War broke out and he was stationed at Woolwich barracks in London. He married Eleanor Maden in 1942 affectionately known at Susie, and they lived in Catford for the duration of the war, losing many belongings includ- ing sketches and paintings when their home was bombed. After he was demobbed he and Susie went, in 1947, to live on a farm on the slopes of Kinder Scout, in Hayfield, Derbyshire. Several notable Northern artists visited the farm to paint and he was encouraged by Terry McGlynn to show his work at Gibbs Bookshop and the Midday Studios in Manchester where he was to exhibit alongside the likes of L.S. Lowry and Theodore Major. There can be little doubt that they met and discussed the innovations in art. The dry stone walling of the Derbyshire landscape left a lasting impression, and the theme of stonework was to be developed into many of Harry’s artistic themes during his later years. In 1950, he went to St. Ives in Cornwall looking for a place to settle, but moved to the opposite coast in Perranuthnoe, near Marazion away from the artist ferment of St. Ives. Harry wanted to express his ideas in his own individualistic way and not be compartmentalised into a specific group or society, and this philosophy remained throughout his life.   The 1960’s were very productive and successful years. Harry’s first solo exhibition took place at the Lincoln Gallery, Sloane Street, London in 1963. Critical acclaim followed with Denis Bowen, the artist and critic writing in the Art Review at the time that his paintings were….  “the product of a love affair between himself and the landscape. Harry Ousey introduces the automatic gesture as a means of expanding his visual imagery across his canvas. His ability to catch the mood of his subject and project atmosphere is evident”.  Other exhibitions were to follow and he became a regular exhibitor at the Drian Gallery in Marble Arch, London.    The advent of Pop Art brought about radical changes to the British art scene. The media were clamouring for more exposure of these new artists; galleries responded by showing this work often to the exclusion of others. Gradually Harry was becoming disillusioned with the British art scene, and coupled with the failure of his art gallery in Painswick, Gloucestershire, he decided to move to France to make a new start! Harry and Susie left England in January 1976 travelling in their VW Caravanette which became their tempo- rary home. They eventually settled in Aix-en-Provence where they were able to absorb the light and warmth of the Mediterranean atmosphere. There were numerous suc- cessful exhibitions in Paris and Aix where his paintings were sold, as well as in several other European countries including Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg. Several shows took place in Sweden. All was going well and he was begin- ning to develop a European rep- utation. He was working long hours to produce paintings for a major exhibition in Paris which would have cemented his growing reputation. Regrettably this did not occur when, following a tragic accident, the French gallery cancelled its entire schedules. This tremen- dous disappointment was followed by a devastating cancer diagnosis. Harry was to die in a Marseilles hospital in May 1985 at the age of 70 years with many of his dreams still unfulfilled. Susie and three close friends scattered his ashes under a tree on a route walked by Paul Cezanne on his way to the Mont. St. Victoire. She returned to England bringing with her as many of their belongings as she could manage. Just before he died Harry instructed her to destroy all the items that it was impossible to carry. Susie lived for a further 12 years but the French portfolios of paintings remained unopened as they evoked too many painful memories for her. Susie left all the paintings to Harry’s niece, Sue together with handwritten sketch notes and diaries kept by Harry. Sue describes the day she started to unpack the paintings as “a life changing moment”, and made the decision to reintroduce Harry Ousey into the British Art scene after an absence of over thirty years. After ten years of dedicated research, and introduc- ing galleries and collectors to his work, it is being recognised as important and deserving a rightful place in 20th century British art history. Sue was delighted when Mary Griffiths accepted three of Harry’s watercolours for The Whitworth Art Gallery collection and Wendy Levy agreed to show his work in her gallery in Didsbury. In Recognition of Harry Ousey, 23 Years on Harry Ousey Edge Movement in The Whitworth Art Gallery Collection Harry Ousey’s work can be seen in the summer exhibition taking place in July/August at The Wendy Levy Gallery, Didsbury