Hugh Penfold’s Life and Artwork

Hugh Penfold’s Life and Artwork – Hansons Charity Auction in aid of Lilian Prime MS Centre

Over 100 paintings by Hugh will be available at the Fine Art and Collectors Auction on Tuesday 31^st May at Bishton Hall in Staffordshire – All proceeds will go to the Lilian Prime MS Centre in Derby, which Hugh attended for many years. Catalogue will be online Tuesday 24^th May 2022.

Hugh Penfold was sadly diagnosed with MS when he was in his mid-60s, just before his retirement. He was born in West Chiltington, Sussex in 1924 and started painting and drawing at a very young age, purchasing his first set of oil paints when he was working as a draftsman in London, at the tender age of 16!  He was conscripted to the Royal Airforce late in 1942, when he was 18 years old and found very little time to paint until after the War had ended, when he was finally discharged in early 1946.

He went on to study at the Worthing Art College for 2 years before moving to Portsmouth to work in Advertising, where he soon met and fell in love with Leading Wren Rita Bradshaw from Derbyshire. They were married in 1950 and moved up to Shelton Lock, Derby – where they lived for the rest of their lives.

Hugh continued his career as a graphic designer in Derby, initially at Bemrose Advertising and then moving on to Product Support Graphics, where he was involved in working on a diverse range of design projects – from producing instruction manuals for Rolls Royce to creating technical illustrations for the original ‘The Times Atlas of World History’.

However, in his spare time, Hugh was a true ‘Artist’ at heart and painted prolifically throughout his adult life, predominantly in oils – sometimes exhibiting at local Galleries and often painting commissions and/or gifts for family, friends and colleagues. His works were mostly landscape paintings of the places he and Rita loved to visit – including many Derbyshire, Sussex, Cornwall and Scottish scenes.

Fortunately – despite his condition, Hugh was able to continue indulging in his passion for a further 10 years or so, until the early 2000s… when his poor dexterity and failing eyesight meant that he had to finally hang up his brushes and be satisfied with his 60+ years of magnificent work.

Very sadly, Hugh passed away during the Covid spike at the end of 2020, aged 96, leaving almost 200 paintings as a legacy of his lifetime’s work.

Hugh’s family would like his wonderful talent to be admired and enjoyed by others and Hansons are delighted to be presenting a collection of around 100 of Hugh’s oil paintings in an MS Charity Sub-Auction on Tuesday 31^st May at Bishton Hall in Stafford, with all proceeds going to the Lillian Prime MS Centre Derby (that Hugh attended for many years), in his memory. Hopefully, this legacy will contribute towards helping the Centre to continue their magnificent work, in supporting and improving the quality of life for many of the local Derby people, who are affected by Multiple Sclerosis.

How to view and bid for Hugh’s paintings

Hugh’s paintings can be viewed online from Tuesday 24^th May, prior to the auction on Tuesday 31^st May. Please follow this link www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk to view the paintings and you can also register to bid for any of the paintings if you wish.

You will find the tab to register and bid on the righthand side of the page and if you prefer, you can call 01283 733988 to register to bid by telephone.

Please take some time to view Hugh’s paintings in the online Catalogue prior to the Auction and choose your favourites to bid on and hopefully acquire and enjoy, to keep his creative spirit alive.