John Rees-Jowett at the drawing board in his Swindon studio.
THE STORY OF JOHN REES-JOWETT
Artist • Architectural Technician • Illustrator
From architectural drawing boards to a remarkable second career documenting Britain’s historic buildings, John Rees-Jowett combined the precision of an architectural technician with the eye of an artist.
His drawings and watercolours captured cathedrals, historic buildings, towns and landscapes across Britain, eventually developing into a successful collection of prints and individually hand-tinted limited editions.
Today, surviving artwork, architectural drawings, photographs and contemporary records allow us to rediscover not simply the work he produced, but the story of the man behind it.
CHAPTER ONE
AN ARTIST BEFORE THE ARCHITECT
Long before John Rees-Jowett became known for his architectural illustrations, there was already an artist emerging.
Born in Hampshire and raised on Merseyside, John's artistic ability was recognised at an early age. At just seven years old, his art teacher asked him to draw ships and Spitfires on the classroom blackboard to help teach the other pupils perspective.
By fourteen, his talent was already receiving recognition beyond the classroom. John entered three watercolours in the Liverpool Show, competing against experienced adult artists, and remarkably walked away with first, second and third prizes.
During the same period, he entered two further works into a competition run by the Royal Drawing Society in London. One received a star prize and was retained for permanent exhibition, while the other was highly commended and also exhibited.
These were not the achievements of an artist discovered late in life.
The artist was there from the beginning.
SURVIVING EVIDENCE FROM JOHN'S EARLY ARTISTIC LIFE
The John Rees-Jowett Collection contains original early artwork associated with this formative period, together with surviving labels and markings connecting works to John and to the Royal Drawing Society.
These pieces provide a rare physical link to the young artist described decades later in his published biography.
CHAPTER TWO
FROM ART TO ARCHITECTURE
John Rees-Jowett's artistic ability would eventually become entwined with another discipline: architecture.
After beginning his architectural training on Merseyside, John attended Liverpool College of Building, later Liverpool Polytechnic. Following two years of National Service, he began working as an architectural technician, gaining experience with architectural practices in Liverpool and London before choosing the smaller practices and slower pace of life found in Cornwall, Devon and Wiltshire.
Architecture gave John something that would remain visible throughout his later artwork: an understanding of perspective, proportion, structure and architectural detail.
His surviving professional drawings reveal the other side of the artist. These were not picturesque interpretations of buildings, but working documents intended to communicate how real buildings should be altered, constructed and understood.
Before John Rees-Jowett documented architecture as an artist, he had learned how buildings worked from the inside out.