Artist Ashley celebrates 75th birthday at the University
Ashley Jackson (right) with his family and cake specially baked to celebrate his 75th birthday.
Thu, 22 Oct 2015 15:46:00 BST
Celebrated landscape artist Ashley Jackson marks 75 years – “...he has captured the soul of Yorkshire in his landscapes...”
ARTIST Ashley Jackson (pictured right) – famous for his atmospheric depictions of the Yorkshire landscape – has marked his 75th birthday by ensuring that future researchers will be able to retrace his early steps to success. He has deposited two films in the archives of the University of Huddersfield, where they will be readily accessible to the public.
The University repaid the compliment by hosting a birthday lunch for the artist that was attended by a wide range of figures from the worlds of art, the media, business and education in the region.
The event took place in the University of Huddersfield’s Heritage Quay, a technically-advanced archives centre that received £2 million funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Mr Jackson has handed over two films in which he features.
One is from the 1981 Yorkshire TV series Once in a Lifetime – My Own Flesh and Blood and the other is from 1967, a 10-minute film by the late John Hoyland, of Barnsley Cine Club. It shows the young Ashley Jackson combining his trade as a skilled signwriter in the Barnsley area with his burgeoning career as a landscape artist, making frequent painting expeditions to the Yorkshire Dales.
Never publicly screened before, the film is newly digitised and was shown at the birthday event.
Ashley Jackson’s studio is in Holmfirth and he has established close ties with the University of Huddersfield, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2013. An original painting donated by the artist hangs in the boardroom at the University’s Student Central Building, where several reproductions of the artist’s Yorkshire landscapes are also on permanent display.
The 75th birthday luncheon was hosted by University of Huddersfield’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bob Cryan (pictured left with Ashley). He said that the Jackson paintings on show at the University were a powerful statement of its regional identity.
“He has captured the soul of Yorkshire in his landscapes,” said Prof Cryan. “Our relationship with Ashley Jackson is a completely natural thing. And now, with these new archival items, that relationship has been strengthened still further.”
Ashley Jackson himself paid tribute to his family, spoke of his love of Yorkshire and stated that his links with the University of Huddersfield had become highly important.
Veteran producer Graham Ironside, who was controller of regional programmes for Yorkshire Television for more than 25 years, spoke of his long collaboration with Ashley Jackson, one of few people whose TV career spanned five decades. Mr Ironside bracketed the artist with Alan Titchmarsh and Bruce Forsyth for screen longevity and said that Ashley Jackson had the key qualities required for sustained success, including expertise and passion.
