He became a fighter pilot during WW2, he was shot down over France in 1943. He tells his story here - just a word of warning, his voice is but a whisper. The recordings tell of his wartime experiences, the people who helped him, the betrayal and torture, the escapes.
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| Tarantella by Dr Edwin Aldridge Haddock |
The big white blob in the middle is due to the flash of my camera, sorry! The apparent simplicity and speed of this painting is false, it has been very carefully built up with multi-layers of colour and texture although the finished painting looks like a hurried and happy 'accident'. She is quite wonderful.
Many of his paintings reflect some of the inner scars and damage which he bore for the rest of his life. Painting became a kind of safety valve. Whenever I look at 'Tarantella' I cannot help but think of his whirling, twirling memories and emotions, feelings which needed to be expressed, in this case as a dance as he tried to 'sweat the poisons out'.
Danse Macabre.
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| Danse Macabre by Dr Edwin Aldridge Haddock |
No matter whether you like the paintings or not, they are very powerful.
Take this bonus painting, 'Interrogator II'
..bear in mind that Dr Haddock was tortured by the Gestapo.
I believe this one is entitled 'Interrogator'
and this one is 'Man of War'. Both are very large and quite wonderful!
More paintings will be added during the next week or so, I had intended to do them before but real life suddenly became extremely busy.
29.8.2016
I'm not sure what the title of this one is. It is very lively with complex and multi-layered colours.
This is a similar, figurative type with a glossy finish.
This one is entitled 'Alien', I believe.
Whereas this one is untitled and has a matt finish.
The little chappie on the left is called 'Clanger', the painting on the right is a matt finish and untitled.
This one as entitled 'Cobra' this is a dreadfully poor photograph of a very large and lively richly coloured painting.
Green amoeba, framed, glossy finish.
This is a painting which I gave to my daughter and is entitled 'Sea Witch'. (it's not available)
This one is 'Galaxy' it is very large, framed, and was exhibited at the Ferens Art Gallery.
Untitled, but beautiful.
Another untitled one - again, very large and beautiful in ochres, red and browns.
This large and lovely painting is called 'Crucible'.
The are several others, both large and smaller (though they are still pretty large) but I ran out of time and energy.
Dr. Haddock was my GP as a child, and his waiting room was stuffed with his paintings. My secondary school also had a couple hanging in the corridors.
ReplyDeleteThey had a huge impact on me, and I managed to acquire one of my own earlier this year. It hangs in my study, and is appreciated every single day.
Hello NJW, Thank you for the visit. If memory serves me right, wasn't his surgery along Dudley Street? I hope the paintings in the waiting room were some of the more amusing ones, like 'Cheshire Cat' and not 'Sea Witch' or 'Interrogator' style ones which, amazing as they are, are very frightening!
DeleteI am delighted to know that you, too, appreciate his work. Dr Haddock's work still amazes me with the complex layering and textures he created before adding the final image. Add in what we now know about his suffering and suddenly you have a whole new dimension to add to them.
Several members of my family also have some of his paintings on their walls; my daughter loves them so much that she has several. They often attract positive attention from guests, who want to know more about the artist and where can his work be purchased.
Lovely to hear from you,
Felcity
Yes, it was on Dudley Street - in a large Victorian house with gloriously panelled rooms, gutted and turned into cheap and nasty white boxes by his successors before being abandoned entirely a few years ago.
DeleteIf I recall correctly (and I might not) it did tend to be the darker paintings that hung there in its aesthetic heyday. Thick layers of blacks and blue topped with purely abstract and decidedly violent splashes of crimson and flesh pink.
Which is probably why they stuck with me!
My own is somewhat brighter and zoomorphic - somewhere between mountain goat and deep-sea creature, executed in sky blue, poppy red and marigold yellow. It's untitled, unfortunately.
I do have room in my life (and on my walls) for one of his darker works, so I scout the Lincolnshire auction houses where a few paintings turn up each year. Although it's always the case that if I miss a 'classic' Haddock it'll go for a pittance, and if I spot one it will go far outside of my budget... *sigh*
One day!
I hope you manage to find another one, they do crop up now and again. I've photographed two of the paintings which hang in the Old Parsonage, my daughter's house, and will tag them onto the post above. One is 'Man o'War' and definitely makes me think of those awful Portuguese Man of War jelly fish, the other is one of the 'Interrogator' Series. Wonderful, both of them. I bought them quite a number of years ago when his family had been clearing out his studio and home. They went for very little and I bought as many paintings as I could fit into my car. Needless to say, most of the people at the auction simply tittered when they saw them; they didn't understand his work at all.
DeleteThank you for commenting, it has been wonderful 'meeting' you and learning that you appreciate his art. Felicity
And you too - it's always heartening to meet fellow travellers on a little-trodden path of interest such as this!
ReplyDeleteHere's my own cheery-ish example:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b108/pinkspoons/WP_20160812_004_zpsjmpscjs0.jpg
Sorry, I couldn't follow the link (other than by typing it out and I am not that accurate first thing in the morning) without publishing it. I shall, of course, delete it if you prefer.
DeleteI do have a stash of his paintings, none of them major works, I'm afraid. I'll add them on to this post over the next few weeks and if you see one you would like, let me know.
I don't want any payment. I would simply be happy to know that it is hanging on a wall somewhere and appreciated.
I too remember his surgery in Dudley Street and the one before it in Yarborough Road. I remember asking about one of his paintings titled 'Poltergeist' that he said I could buy for £75. Sadly, I was a teenager and didn't have that kind of money. I remember him with considerable fondness.
ReplyDeleteHello Shaun - well, the good news is that you can have one now and it won't cost you a penny. If you send me your email address (which I won't publish) I can send you images of some more of his paintings, so you can choose one for yourself.
DeleteHi. This is so interesting. I believe when he was at the surgery on Yarbrough Road, it was the home of my stepmother, Enid Wallace. She had one of Fin Haddock's paintings but it was passed onto someone else and lost from the family. I remember how unusual it was when I was a child and therefore interesting. Are other paintings available? Vicki
ReplyDeleteMy nanna was best friends and pen pal with Dr Haddock... she admired him and his work... I am intreaged to find a photograph of him..does anyone have one ? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHello, I am currently doing some research on the town and would be really interested to learn some more about Dr Haddock.I was wondering if I would be able to get an email address for yourself? Any information, however little, would be very much appreciated. My email is nmacook@gmail.com Best regards, Mimi
ReplyDeleteThere is 1 of his paintings up for auction today at the Jackson green and Preston sales room. (10th May) would be interested in seeing how much it goes for.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting these imagaes. Dr Haddock was my GP as a child and I recall him, his surgery and the paitings quite clearly. As a child I always though the painting looked scary and in later years I grew to understand the back ground. Very keen to aquire one, I keep looking and missing those that do so very occasionaly become available. It's great to see these paintings. Thank you again!
ReplyDelete