Artist in her nineties has special show in Chagford gallery

A special exhibition is being staged in a Chagford gallery of work by a nonagenarian artist who spent much of her life living, working and painting abroad.

Elizabeth Simson, 93, now lives in east Devon in a residential home.

As a child in World War Two she was evacuated to Moretonhampstead and is still drawn to the area.

Now her friend Suzy Maxwell, of Chagford, who frames all Elizabeth’s work, is helping her stage an art exhibition in Chagford.

The show Elizabeth Simson and Friends runs at No 10, a new gallery on High Street, Chagford from Sunday, September 1 until Saturday, September 14 from 11am to 4pm.

Recent work by Elizabeth, which draw on her love of colour and joy at living, refers back to her years spent in India, Afghanistan and France

Exhibiting alongside her are paintings by her relative, the artist Henrietta Simson and animal sculptures by Suzy herself, exhibiting as Nesta Pilkington.

Suzy explained that the exhibition was a tribute to Elizabeth’s creativity and independent spirit. In her youth, Elizabeth studied art at the progressive Bath Academy of Art and in London and went on to teach art in colleges in Cambridge and back in Bath before taking off to travel.

Along the way ran workshops for the British Council in Bahrain and Afghanistan and to become artist-in-residence at Kota Polytechnic College in India, carving out a creative life for herself.

Her work has been exhibited at the Kota Heritage Society Art Gallery, the Commonwealth Institute in London and at many galleries, museums and universities and England and India as well as at the Jaipur International Festival in India.

Her paintings and prints can be found in collections in England, Scotland, France, Cyprus, India and Canada. In more recent years, she has settled back in Devon, and continued to paint.

Suzy said: “She is a really independent spirit. She travelled to places like Afghanistan in the 1970s. With Sir John Betjemen’s wife Penelope Betjemen she travelled extensively. She has lots of tales of the tricky situations they got into when they were travelling together. 

“She is an extraordinary woman. I like her, I think, because she chose not to marry. I like that total need for independence and to travel.

“It’s this independence and her playfulness which really comes across in her as a person and the playfulness really comes into her work.”

Suzy met Elizabeth when she started framing her work before covid. “I did quite a lot of her framing at that point and we became friends,” said Suzy. “I have known her for about five years.

“She has completely lost her sight now but she is really pleased we are having the exhibition. She said to me I’m longing for the exhibition to be a success’. It really chokes me up. She has painted all her live and she has worked in so many media including photography and ceramics.

“I knew that the exhibition is on her bucket list and it is important to do these things while you can.”

She said the work really showcased Elizabeth’s life’s work.

 “It takes 30-40 years as an artist to get to that point, where you have got something of your own, your own visual language, and she really has.

“The more I spend time with the paintings the more I love them.”

Also showing as part of the exhibition is work by Elizabeth’s relative Henrietta Simson, whose rich use of gold in her paintings will complement Elizabeth’s work.