Son to launch exhibition displaying late father's 'quirky' artwork in Harwich

Ed Mayhew’s father Dick died after from Covid on January 26, 2021, aged 79, after spending a few weeks in hospital.

He was a resident of Lime Court Care Home in Dovercourt and Edward has lived in Harwich all his life.

Ed said: “There was no funeral because of the pandemic so we waited and held a small exhibition last year to get his old friends together once lockdown eased.

Retro - An old family picture of the Mayhew's.

“A friend of dad’s Phil Davis arranged a video exhibition for him, my dad spent his whole life painting and sculpting so another exhibition is fitting.”

Dick had some minor health problems but nothing too serious which made his decline in health even tougher.

Ed said: “He wasn’t unwell I’d say, he’d been in the care home since 2017 because he had a stroke in 2011 just before my daughter was born.

“He was living independently up until 2017 after which he had developed vascular dementia, he lost his mobility but it was more of a mental decline than a physical one.

Set Sail - One of Dick's unique pieces

“However the mental did lead to the physical causing a loss of mobility because he lost motivation, then he got Covid and passed.”

Dick knew Phil from their time together at Colchester Art School, during which he rubbed shoulders with some famous creatives.

He met famous photographer Nigel Henderson who had work in the Tate Modern and died in Thorpe in 1985.

Dick also met Eduardo Paolozzi who has stunning work in Tottenham Court Road, north London.

Creative - Another inspiring piece of work by Dick

Ed added: “Dad had quite an interesting early life considering some of the people he mixed with, he was inspired by their work.

“In turn he produced some quirky pop art which is really interesting and I hope people can come and see it.”

Dick’s work will be on display at Old Bank Studios in the Electric Palace, Harwich, from Thursday, August 4 to Sunday, August 14.

For more information visit bit.ly/3J9HOPL.