In Memoriam

We ourselves commissioned two graphite drawings from him. His drawing of the Queen Mother as a child aged seven (2004) was exhibited at The Mall Gallery in London in 2011 in the Royal Miniatures
Special Loan Exhibition.

It drew public praise from HM the Prince of Wales in his Preface to the accompanying catalogue. Teasing Edward with a partial quote from the narrative, which he had not yet seen ‘… I am also delighted to see the exquisitely rendered pencil portrait of my grandmother …‘, we expected a thrilled reply. Sadly, not even praise from the Heir to the British Throne could raise him from his deep depression.

Later in 2011, we received a box from Edward unexpectedly. ‘Well, here is a ‘gift box’ for you….. the rough graphite sketches are taken from various sources…some 60 year old references….others imaginative. They are safer in your hands than mine as I tend to trash work like this when I am down and depressed …
Do with them as you wish …

Hugs, Edward.’

It was a far cry from the ebullient Edward that we met up with when we visited his new home in Tasmania in the early 2000’s; a small hut, of one room, in acres of forest, which he later enlarged.

At the time, he had just moved from Melbourne with his ‘love of my life‘ partner. He explained that they had no bathroom yet and asked to use the facilities in the house we had rented for our stay, adding ‘we will bring our own rubber ducks and towels!‘ Little did they know that the one bathroom in our rented property had a panoramic window behind the bath/cum shower, poorly occluded by patterned glass, and no doubt startling motorists driving past when in use!

This was one of the happiest periods in Edward‘s life. At the height of his artistic powers and with support from his partner, he was able to win many International Awards for his art and sell his work through various galleries. However, his relationship was not enduring and when he was left alone some years later, he did not cope well. He produced no new work after 2011.