Harvey Daniels (1936-2013) An appreciation.
I first met Harvey at meetings of the United Kingdom National Committee of the International Association of Art at Richard Carline’s house in Hampstead and later when we attended IAA conferences in Stuttgart and Helsinki as joint members of the UK delegation. He was a client and friend of Robert Coward, my partner. We often visited Harvey and Judy in Brighton. Their two daughters, Zoe and Prudence, are only a few years older than our daughter, Sunshine. In 1987 I put forward Harvey as a member of the London Group. Harvey was a wonderful artist. I loved his slightly pop-art inspired early works, and his later less figurative paintings and prints. His paintings were joyful and he loved colour. Harvey was kind, generous, funny and extremely perceptive, especially on matters to do with art. He was always supportive of other artists. He wrote the introduction to my ‘Catalogue of Fear’ retrospective exhibition at the Gardner Centre, Brighton. Harvey exhibited his work widely in the UK and abroad and his work is in many public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He was a founder member of the Printmakers’ Council. He produced a portfolio of twelve artists’ prints to raise money for the IAA.
His own artwork always looked fresh and distinctively a Harvey Daniels. He never seemed to age, he always dressed beautifully with colourful glasses and very distinctive shoes. He was always a staunch supporter and friend of the London Group and its values. He was a real artist in everything he did, through good times and bad, whatever the weather, and now he is gone. And we miss him. But his wonderful lively colourful paintings and prints live on. He is an extra star in the sky in a dark night and we will never forget his kindness and energy.
SUZAN SWALE