Original Gouache 'The Bar Room' - Attributed to John Ward R.A (1917-2007) Unsigned & Framed c.1950

Great quality interior gouache of a bar room scene. The painting came with an attribution to John Ward and stylistically there is a strong case, but it is unsigned. Therefore it is sold as 'attributed'. The work is painted on a prepared board and measures 21cm x 26cm. John Ward was born in Hereford studying at the Hereford School of Arts and Crafts before winning a place to the Royal College of Art in 1936. There he studied under Gilbert Spencer, Charles Mahoney and Alan Sorrell and won the prize for drawing. During World War II he served in the Royal Engineers and took part in the D-Day landings. After the war he returned to the Royal College to graduate in 1946. Ward worked as a painter, illustrator and teacher, happy to work in oils, watercolour, pastel and pen and ink. He painted portraits, landscapes, interiors and architectural subjects, undertaking portraits of members of the royal family, businessmen and celebrities including the Princess of Wales. He produced illustrations for Vogue magazine from 1948 to 1952 and many books including Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie (1959) and H E Bates's The Darling Buds of May (1958). In 1956, he became an associate member of the Royal Academy, being elected a full member in 1966. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Watercolour Society, Royal Society of Portrait Painters and elsewhere and is represented in many public collections.