John Hitchens (born 1940) is an English painter. His work is influenced by the landscape of the South Downs and his main subject area is the countryside of West Sussex, England. He also spent extended periods working in North Wales and North West Scotland. Hitchens' paintings are primarily concerned with expressing patterns and textures of the landscape. During the past decades his work has evolved into an abstract style using a range of earth colours.
Biography John Hitchens was born in Hove, Sussex, England. Both his father, Ivon Hitchens (1893–1979) and his grandfather Alfred Hitchens (1861–1942) were also painters.National Portrait gallery listing for John Hitchens He attended Bedales School near Petersfield, Hampshire, and studied at the Academy of Art, Corsham. Hitchens started exhibiting in the 1960s with a series of solo exhibitions, notably with the Marjorie Parr Gallery in London. His work is represented in several public and private collections in England and overseas.
He lives near Petworth, West Sussex and works at the studio his father built in the woods.
In March 2020 Southampton City Art Gallery mounted a major retrospective of John Hitchens' paintings, covering more than five decades of his work.
Exhibitions featuring work by John Hitchens, his father Ivon, his grandfather Alfred, and his son Simon, a sculptor, were held at Kevis House Gallery in Petworth in 2019 and at Southampton City Art Gallery in 2022/3.The Hitchens Family: A Shared Love of Landscape Southampton City Art Gallery 12.11.22-4.3.23
Work in public and private collections Bradford City Art Gallery Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Brasenose College, Oxford New College, Oxford. Ferens Art Gallery, Hull Magdalene College, Cambridge Nuffield College, Oxford University of Chichester Towner Gallery, Eastbourne Leicester University Southampton City Art Gallery Chippenham Museum and Art Collection
References
Further reading Artists in Britain since 1945, Sansom & Company, 2006 Marjorie Parr – Chelsea and St Ives Art Dealer, Old Bakehouse Publications, 2008 Circles and Tangents: Art in the shadow of Cranborne Chase, Canterton Books, 2011 John Hitchens – Aspects of Landscape, contributor Anne-Katrin Purkiss, Sansom & Company, 2020 South Downs Showcase, Lodsworth Heritage Society, 2021 Convergence – Paintings by John Hitchens, Felix & Spear Gallery, 2022 The Art of Chichester, 60 Years, York House Books, 2022 Migrating Thoughts – Work by John Hitchens, Chippenham Museum & Art Gallery, 2024 John Hitchens – Elements of Landscape, contributor Anne-Katrin Purkiss, Sansom & Company, 2025
External links
Publications at the National Art Library Felix & Spear Gallery From Sombre Lands: Piano Composition after a painting by John Hitchens (2013) www.artnet.com Christies Auctions past results for John Hitchens