Stanley Lench (1957)

Stanley Lench was born in South London in 1934. He did not complete his secondary education because of the war and periods of mental illness. Thus he grew up largely self-taught including his art. After his first exhibition at Helen Lessore’s Beaux Arts Gallery, London in 1955, he was accepted as a student in the Stained Glass department of the Royal College of Art, and took his diploma in that subject in 1958.

A prolonged period of mental illness following his studies, led to Stan becoming a recluse for some years when he did not paint at all. Eventually the “aching void” gave way to a period of exhilaration and he began to paint again. His paintings continue to portray vivid, highly colourful tableaux of people from the past and present who have captured his imagination. He is obsessed with the ageing process and ‘heroines’ such as Gloria Swanson who went to great lengths to appear young.