Joan Gillchrest (1918-2008)

Joan Gillchrest was born in Westminster on the 2^nd November 1918. Her father was a pioneering radiologist and accomplished caricaturist, her mother was gifted pianist. Both encouraged her to paint from an early age. Joan later went on to study at the Grosvenor School of Art and exhibited works at the Royal Academy and the New English Art club. Her first solo show was in 1969 at the Plymouth art gallery and for 20 years she would exhibit at most Cornish galleries, other solo shows followed in Penzance, St Ives and London. Joan will be remembered as one of the leading naïve artists of her time, she enjoyed painting Cornwall’s rugged Penwith peninsula, beholding the quaint coastal villages and sea bound fishing boats.