John Luke

Belfast artist John Luke studied at the Belfast School of Art and won a scholarship which enabled him to study at the Slade School of Art in London under Henry Tonks. While in London he shared a studio with F.E. McWilliam and exhibited at the Redfern and Leger galleries. He also continued his studies at night at the Westminster School of Art before returning to Belfast in 1931. During the 1930s Luke began exhibiting at the RHA. Although he stopped painting during World War II and taught for a time in Co. Armagh, the 1940’s were significant for Luke’s artistic career with a major solo show at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery and a retrospective held by the Committee for Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA).