He's An Old Master At Eleven!

Howard Clanford (Anthony Christian), aged 11, visits the National Gallery in London every week - to work on a copy of a famous old picture.

It is the first time that permission has been given for a boy to paint at the gallery.
I found Howard, who will be 12 in October, standing by his easel in Room Six in front of a 6ft by 4ft canvas - the famous Cavalry Battle, painted by Wouwermans in the 17th century.

A group of admirers watched as he worked.
Howard, in shorts and white shirt, wiped his brow. "It will be another two to three years before I've finished it." he said.

'No Training'

Professional artists who have seen Howard's work consider it brilliant for a child.
His great aunt, Miss Violet Sparrow, who takes Howard to the Gallery every week told me : "He has had no training. He started when he was three years old. He doesn't eat sweets. He spends nearly all his time, when he isn't actually in school, on drawing." Howard, who lives in Cedars Road, Clapham, has been working for six months. "My headmistress allows me off school on Friday afternoons so I can come to the Gallery," he said.

Picasso? No

What artists does he like? "Not Picasso," said Howard, "He's horrible. Matisse is worse. Sir Alfred Munnings is my favorite. I'm longing to meet him. Sometimes I go to the Royal Academy just on the off chance of seeing him. I did see him once. But I hadn't the courage to go and talk to him."
Howard's ambition is to become President of the Royal Academy - "or at any rate have a picture hung there."

Anthony Christian's "The Battle Scene" was completed in 1961. It took him over six years to complete, during which time he had received offers up to £8000. It was his first major work and is currently on display in The ICHOR Gallery in Yorkshire.
For more information, call +44 (0) 113 281 1223 or email maura@ichorgallery.com to contact the artists.