George Howell Baker, ARWA (1871-1919), who worked as G. Howell-Baker and under the pseudonym G.H. Rekab, was an Anglo-Welsh artist, illustrator, poet, and art teacher. After early success in London and Paris, he spent the latter part of his life in Bridgend. His work is in a number of major collections, including National Museum Wales and the Royal Collection.
Barker was born in the first quarter of 1871 in Prestwich Park,[lower-alpha 1][1] then in Lancashire, to Mary Catherine (née Howell), from Bridgend and George Baker, from Manchester.[1][2] He was baptised at Prestwich Park on 15 March 1871.[3] He was not a healthy child and his parents feared he would not reach adulthood.[4] His initial education was by a private tutor at home (in both the 1881[5] and 1891[6] censuses, he is recorded with his family at Stone Lodge, Marple), after which he spent the final five years of his schooling at Llandudno Collegiate School.[2] He subsequently studied at Owen's College (later Victoria University), Manchester, where he excelled in biology and zoology.[1]
His birth name was George Howell Baker, in which "Howell" was a given name,[3] but professionally he styled himself as "G. Howell-Baker", with a double-barrelled surname.[7] The original form was given in the census returns for 1901 and 1911, the latter completed by his mother.[8][9]
Career
Cover of The Poster, June 1900. Baker also wrote an article for this issue.
As an artist, Baker exhibited at the Paris Salon, and the "Section de Gravures du Salon Artistes Français", as well as a number of galleries in London and across Wales.[1] His oil painting, In Memoriam: Llanmihangel Church was accepted for exhibition by the Royal Academy.[2]
As an illustrator, he produced sketches and covers for The Poster, for whom he also wrote.[7] He illustrated poems by Tennyson for Vanity Fair.[10]
In 1901, Penholm,[lower-alpha 2] a book of 25 of his drawings reproduced as lithographs on hand-made paper, was published by R. Brimley Johnson.[12][13] Other than their titles, also listed in an illustrated index, it included no text.[13] One of the drawings, A Cloud to Starboard, was reproduced as a full page in a 1902 edition of The Magazine of Art, to accompany a review of the book.[14] Another, St. George and the Dragon, was reproduced in The Bookman, whose reviewer described Howell-Baker as "a discovery, an artist of real distinction. His work is strong and striking".[15]
He contributed to the short-lived (1901-1903) magazine Western Counties Graphic, using the pen name "Rekab" ("Baker", written backwards).[16] He used the pen name "G.H. Rekab" for his poems, a number of which were published in The Glamorgan Gazette.[17][18] Under his own name, he wrote a hymn, "S.S. Bremen",[lower-alpha 3] with music by E. Edgar Evans.[4]
Back of one of Baker's postcards - note monogram, and hyphenated surname
He designed and published a short series of postcards of views local to Bridgend.[20] He also worked as a wood carver.[2]
In May 1914, he exhibited a number of oil portraits (of Miss Dorothy M. Taylor, Gorphwysfa, Penart; Dr W. Edmund Thomas, Ashfield, Bridgend; Miss Dollie Allen, Llwyn Celyn, Bridgend; and Mr A. Taylor, Inspector of Schools), plus other works in oil and watercolour "at Cardiff in connection with the South Wales Art Society".[21]
Baker also taught art and gave public lectures on related subjects for a number of schools and colleges across South Wales.[2][22][23][24]
In 1904 Baker was witness to a case of manslaughter which occurred outside his home, at 1,Coychurch Road, Bridgend, and gave evidence at the subsequent inquest.[26][27][28][29] In 1906, he gave evidence at another inquest—into the accidental death of his father, who died after being struck by a horse-drawn wagon.[30]
In 1902, his address was given as "Coychurch-road, Bridgend".[15]
Baker was also a banjo player, and gave occasional public performances.[31]
Death
Around 1917, Baker suffered a "serious nervous breakdown", and two years later died at his home, Ingleside, Bridgend, on 19 September 1919.[2] He was aged 48, and was survived by his widowed mother, his (younger) sister, Mary Catherine Helen ("Nellie"), also an artist and teacher, and a fiancee, Miss Lillie Abbott.[2][4][28] Two other siblings predeceased him.[9] He is buried in the churchyard at St Madoc's, Nolton, the funeral having taken place there on 23 September.[2]
At the time of his death "he had intended going to London to publish his eight pen and ink works, each containing several hundred pages; to arrange for an exhibition of his oil and water colour works, and also to be proposed a member of the Etching Association."[2] He was also working on two paintings, one of which was The Boat of Souls.[lower-alpha 4][32]
Obituaries were published in Welsh newspapers[2][28][32] and as far away as the United States.[33]
In 1968, a former pupil wrote a newspaper column reminiscing about being taught by Baker. He described him as having:[34]
a black moustache and closely cropped bristling hair... dressed like George Bernard Shaw with a homberg, Norfolk coat, knicker-bocker trousers, with the tops of his hose turned down below the knee.
His oil painting Ewenny Castle (actually depicting Ewenny Priory) is in the collection of the National Museum Wales, at National Museum Cardiff.[35] NMW also has several works on paper.[36] Another work in oil, Joan of Arc, was in the church of St Agnes in Rouen.[2] Three of his prints are in the permanent collection of the Royal West of England Academy. Eleven works (eight prints; two drawings, 'Tree Study - Symbolical' and 'Peace'; and a watercolour, 'Carrick Fergus Castle') are in the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea.
Lillie Abbott moved to Cincinnati after his death, to live with relatives, and a collection of his drawings formerly in her possession, compiled as a scrapbook and annotated by T. A. Langstroth and titled "Victor of Destiny, or, The life of G. Howell-Baker"[39] is held by Cincinnati Library. The scrapbook includes a signed print with a personal inscription by Baker.[40] Langstroth, writing in 1958, notes:[4]
I love the work of G. Howell-Baker not only for his master-hand, but because he is absolutely unknown—a nobody. In the scant forty years since his death, he has been completely forgotten—erased from the face of the earth. There isn't as much as one line or word about him in the Cincinnati Public Library nor in the New York Public Library, for that matter. A letter sent to London, England, verified the fact that they also have forgotten him.
It is apparent that it was his destiny to be erased from the face of the earth. As a child, he was very sickly and his life was despaired of before he was ten years old.
Notes
Cover of Penholm
↑ Various sources, mostly modern, and obituaries, give other dates for his birth or death, or different age at death, or place his birth at Marple. The facts in this article have been verified against official registers and census returns.
↑ Penholm was royal quarto format (10 by 12.5 inches (250 by 320mm)) and sold for 10s. 6d. (£0.52½; equivalent to £58in 2021)[11]
↑ Possibly related to when SS Bremen sailed through the site of the Titanic sinking five days after the event. Although the Bremen didn't stop, this was traumatic for the passengers who saw the numerous corpses in the water, including "one woman in a nightdress with a baby clasped closely to her breast".[19]
↑ The source gives the second painting as The Heavenly Parrot; but the clipping in the Cincinnati scrapbook has been manually amened to Heavenly Pallate. A pallate (or pallet) is a basic type of bed, as might be used by low-class people or servants. Another possible interpretation is "palette".
Related Research Articles
The Vale of Glamorgan, often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol Channel to the south. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals, it is the southernmost unitary authority in Wales. Attractions include Barry Island Pleasure Park, the Barry Tourist Railway, Medieval wall paintings in St Cadoc's Church, Llancarfan, Porthkerry Park, St Donat's Castle, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village. The largest town is Barry. Other towns include Penarth, Llantwit Major, and Cowbridge. There are many villages in the county borough.
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, 20 miles (32 km) west of Cardiff and 20 miles (32 km) east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Ogmore. The River Ewenny also flows through the town. The population was 49,597 in 2021.
Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Maesteg is 'fair field'.
Ewenny is a village and community (parish) on the River Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
Colwinston is both a village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of the centre of Bridgend and 21 miles (34 km) west of the centre of Cardiff. The village is located within 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) of the A48. The population in 2005 was approximately 400 but with recent building development, the population is now estimated at over 600 people.
The Borough of Ogwr was one of six districts of Mid Glamorgan in Wales, which existed from 1974 to 1996.
Ogmore Castle is a Grade I listed castle ruin located near the village of Ogmore-by-Sea, south of the town of Bridgend in Glamorgan, South Wales. It is situated on the south bank of the River Ewenny and the east bank of the River Ogmore.
Bridgend County Borough Council is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the Principal Areas of Wales.
The Vale of Glamorgan Railway Company was built to provide access to Barry Docks from collieries in the Llynvi, Garw and Ogmore areas. Proposed by the coalowners but underwritten by the wealthy Barry Railway Company, it opened in 1897 from near Bridgend to Barry, in Wales.
This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires who were from the earliest times officers of the crown. Sheriffs in the modern sense, appointed and answerable to the crown, were instituted in the county of Glamorgan in 1541.
John Lewis Williams was a Welsh international wing who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club. A three times Triple Crown winner, out of seventeen appearances for Wales he was on the losing side only twice.
Colonel Richard Davies Garnons Williams was a British Army officer and Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales, Brecon and Newport. He played in the first Wales international rugby union match in 1881.
The office of High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan was established in 1974 as part of the creation of the county of Mid Glamorgan in Wales following the Local Government Act 1972, and, together with the High Sheriff of West Glamorgan and the High Sheriff of South Glamorgan, effectively replaced the office of the High Sheriff of Glamorgan.
Portobello House is a building on the bank of the River Ogmore, about half a mile up from the sea, near the estuary at Ogmore-by-Sea, western Vale of Glamorgan, southeast Wales, on the country border with Bridgend County Borough. It is accessed off the B4524 road. Merthyr Mawr Sand Dunes lie across the river from the house and Southerndown Golf Club lies to the southeast.
Townshend Mainwaring was a British Conservative Party politician.
Llandow, is the name of an electoral ward in the west of the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It covers its namesake community of Llandow as well as the neighbouring communities of Colwinston and Llangan. Since 1995 the ward has elected a county councillor to the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
Oldcastle is an area and electoral ward of the town of Bridgend, Wales, to the south of the town centre. The ward elects councillors to Bridgend Town Council and Bridgend County Borough Council.
The Cwm Ebol quarry was a slate quarry about 1 mile (1.6 km) north west of the village of Pennal in Mid Wales. It operated from about 1860 to about 1906. It was the last Welsh slate quarry connected only to a trans-shipment point instead of directly to a railway.
The Pantdreiniog quarry was a slate quarry within the town of Bethesda in North Wales. It was worked between about 1825 and 1923. It played a significant part in the Penrhyn Great Strike, Britain's longest industrial dispute.
James Harvey Insole JP was an English businessman who consolidated and developed the extensive South Wales coal mining and shipping business begun by his father George Insole.
References
S.S. Bremen Words and illustration by Howell-Baker, music by E. Edgar Evans, now part of the Cincinnati scrapbook
↑ "Local News". The Glamorgan Gazette. 17 September 1909. p.5. hdl:10107/3875765. Retrieved 25 April 2021. A series of pen and ink sketches, by Mr. G. Howell Baker, of Bridgend, is appearing in "Vanity Fair." The pictures, which are excellently done, illustrate Tennyson's poems, and two reproductions in a number to hand are entitled "To yonder oak within the field" and "Down the river's dim expanse." We understand Mr. Baker has contracted to contribute to our contemporary through the autumn.
↑ "Snapshots". Barry Herald. 5 February 1904. p.3. hdl:10107/3803730. Retrieved 25 April 2021. Mr G. Howell-Baker, a Bridgend artist, who has figured prominently in lithographic artist work, has issued two excellent picture post-cards, one showing the fine church at Colwinstone, and the other showing part of the old manor-house at Llanmihangel, once the home of the Dunraven family-both scenes in the Vale of Glamorgan.
↑ "Ogmore and Garw Evening Classes". The Glamorgan Gazette. 5 June 1908. hdl:10107/3875165. Retrieved 25 April 2021. The services of the following travelling county teachers were applied for [...] Mr. George Howell Baker, art teacher, for Nantymoel, Aber, and Nanthir, subject to the approval of the Education Committee
↑ "Wales and Art". The Cardiff Times. 5 November 1910. p.8. hdl:10107/3416263. Retrieved 25 April 2021. On Monday evening, at the new Higher Elementary School, Pontycymmer, an interesting lecture on what to look for in a picture gallery was given by Mr George Howell-Baker, Bridgend.
↑ "Ogmore Vale". The Glamorgan Gazette. 25 November 1910. hdl:10107/3876299. Retrieved 25 April 2021. At the Higher Elementary School on Monday evening, Mr. G. Howell-Baker, Bridgend, who conducts an art class in connection with the evening classes of this school, gave an interesting lecture on "What to look for in an art gallery."
"Local Gossip". The Glamorgan Gazette. 4 September 1908. p.6. hdl:10107/3875285. Retrieved 25 April 2021. Comments by Mr.G. Howell-Baker on the subject of art appear in this month's Coity and Nolton Parish Magazine... (includes summary)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
