Watercolor Painter Butler Dies


Filed at 6:13 a.m. EDT
May 5, 1999
By The Associated Press (from AP Online)

BAKEWELL, England (AP) -- Artist George Butler, the oldest living member of Britain's prestigious Royal Watercolor Society, has died at age 94.

Butler, whose delicate landscapes and studies of ballet dancers have been exhibited throughout Britain and France, died April 19 in the northeast English town of Bakewell where he lived, news reports said. Cause of death was not given.

Born in Sheffield, Butler attended the Sheffield College of Art and the Central School of Art in London. He worked for an advertising agency for many years while painting and exhibiting.

Butler's first one-man show was at the Redfern Gallery in 1927. He would later have shows in Paris and Aix-en-Provence, France, and Chatsworth, England. He also exhibited regularly at London's Royal Academy, the New English Art Club, the Royal Society of British Artists and in French galleries.

His subjects were typically young girls, often ballet dancers, or delicate landscapes of Britain or France.

Butler was elected to the Royal Watercolor Society as an associate member in 1956 and as a full member the following year. He was also active in the Artists' General Benevolent Society, serving as its vice president in 1977.

His wife, Kcenia Kotliarevskaya, died in 1992. He is survived by a son and a daughter.

Funeral details were not immediately available.