RA artist told to move on by heavy-handed Venice police
POLICE in Venice have been accused of being overly zealous after ordering an acclaimed British artist to stop painting in St Mark’s Square.
Ken Howard, OBE, was painting one of his favourite views of the piazza when two officers told him to move on.
The 86-year-old was sheltering from the rain beneath the portico of the Procuratie, a palazzo that flanks one side of the square. He had moved there after initially setting up his easel along the Riva degli Schiavoni, a stretch of canal bank a few hundred yards away.
Prof Howard, a former president of the New English Art Club and a professor of perspective at the Royal Acad- emy, told the police he had used the same spot for decades but they remained unmoved.
“I first came to Venice in 1958 and I’ve never had a problem,” he said.
“But of all of a sudden they’ve brought in new rules which say you have to have a permit. It’s a bit daft.”
On Tuesday Prof Howard went to the office that issues the permits, only to find it closed. He said: “They told me to come back tomorrow. I said, ‘I’m terribly sorry but I’m busy and I have to work.’ I don’t think I’ll go back to the wretched office. I’ll take a chance.”
Dora Bertolutti, his Italian wife, said: “No one has ever tried to stop him from painting in Venice before. But when they told him to pack up, he did. He’s
‘Under these rules, even Canaletto would have been forced out of Venice’
very British – he’s obedient and didn’t want to make a fuss. But he’s fed up with this stupid bureaucracy.”
Marco Agostini, commander of the municipal police, insisted the officers acted correctly. He said: “It was raining and lots of people were trying to pass along the portico. If we had not intervened, there would have been complaints. He should have asked for permission. There are rules and they need to be respected by everyone.”
But ordinary Venetians spoke up for Prof Howard. Many accused the police of officiously picking on the artist while ignoring the behaviour of tourists who swim in the canals, jump off bridges and picnic in piazzas.
“Are we really sure that these should be the priorities of a city that is adrift?” said Marco Gasparinetti, from Gruppo 25 Aprile, a group of local campaigners. “Under these rules even Canaletto would have been forced out of Venice.”
Massimiliano Bergamo, another Venetian, listed Prof Howard’s many awards and titles and described the behaviour of the police on Sunday as
‘He’s very British – he didn’t want to make a fuss. But he’s fed up with this stupid bureaucracy’
shameful. He said: “I apologise on behalf of Venice.”
Prof Howard, whose work sells for thousands of pounds, studied at the Royal College of Art. He served his National Service in the Royal Marines, then became the Imperial War Museum’s artist in Northern Ireland and worked with the British Army all over the world.
He was elected a full Royal Academician in 1991 and is represented by the Portland Gallery in his native London. Venice, London and Cornwall are among his favourite places to paint.