Kit Williams

I’ve bean meaning for a while to talk about some of my favourite artists and now is as good a time as any to begin. I’ll probably come back to this subject every now and then to add more to the list.

I’d like to start with a relatively unknown artist and illustrator Kit Williams. He’s probably most famous for a book entitled Masquerade.

Masquerade was a sensation during the late 1970’s selling thousands of copies based on the premise of solving a puzzle. The solution was a clue to the hidden whereabouts of a golden hair buried somewhere in the UK.

Kit was recently subject of a BBC programme ‘The Man Behind the Masquerade’. He appeared quite a reluctant subject, camera shy and reclusive – a contrast to many modern artists.

What I like about Kit’s work is the sensitivity, thought and detail which goes into each piece. They also have a magical quality about them too, this may in part be down to the subject matter. His pieces have more in common with the arts and crafts movement along with the Pre-Raphaelites than modern art. Two genres of art I’ve always loved.

The BBC show brought to light something about modern life and in particular modern art. Many modern artists work with teams of people to create huge paintings en mass, this is both financially profitable and gets your name around.

However Kit created over 300 works of art by himself simply because he wanted to, his art isn’t particularly political or shocking but it performs the primary function of art and that is to be beautiful.

In addition to paintings and two books hes also worked on two clocks both in shopping centres. The Regent Arcade in Cheltenham is home to the Wishing Fish Clock featuring a duck that lays golden eggs, and the Frog Clock in Telford Shopping Centre.

If you’ve never heard of Kit Williams then I’d recommend you check out his work, or even read Masquerade the story of a rabbit delivering a pearl from the moon to the sun.

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