Ann Langford Dent was born in London 1924, the daughter of Dr John Yerbury Dent, who pioneered the Apomorphine treatment for alcohol and drug addiction made famous by William Burroughs.
Ann’s childhood was unconventional. Her parents lived separately and disapproved of formal education. They contrived that Ann was too ill to attend school and she was brought up in the country and given “freedom to express herself”. She was taught chess by her father and “everything else” by her mother. Ann’s childhood was unhappy and she sought solace in drawing and writing letters. Her precocious talent was spotted by the artist and sculptor Robert Anning Bell, a family friend. He encouraged Ann to go to art school and at 14 she was accepted at the Coventry Municipal School for Art. Following the blitz, she left for London, breaking relations with her mother, to live with her father. Ann resumed her studies at St Martin’s School of Art later transferring to The Central Schools of Art and Crafts where she was taught by Robert Buhler. Throughout this period she recorded in detail her experiences of life in London and at art school in letters to Anthony Rubinstein a childhood friend who was in the army.
Ann was called up in 1943 and through family connections found her-self decoding weather reports in the Japanese Section at Bletchley Park, where her lack of a formal education was seen as an advantage. Ann continued to draw and became well known for her portraits of colleagues. When the war came to an end a legacy from her grandfather enabled her to study at the École Nationale Supérieure Des Beaux Arts under the tutelage of Maître Souverbie. In 1949 she cut short her studies to marry Anthony Rubinstein.
Ann found combining her urge to paint with the duties of being a wife to a successful London solicitor and mother of three children challenging. From 1949 to her divorce in 1972 Ann’s output consisted mainly of landscapes, although she did paint a number of portraits, including Sir Angus Johnstone Wilson (National Portrait Gallery) whom she had known at Bletchley.
Following the divorce Ann devoted more time to drawing and painting. She exhibited work regularly at the Mall Galleries and was runner up for The Laing Prize, 1983 (Worcester Cathedral). She also started a long association with the Chelsea Arts Society. Ann is perhaps best known for her Cherry Tree series 1973 - 2006. In 1993 Ann realised her ambition to paint the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan when she became artist in residence in Kawashima, Gifu Prefecture. This experience had a profound impact and Ann's output increased throughout the 1990s. Following a second productive trip to Japan in 1997 Ann became Artist in Residence for the Aldeburgh Festival, 1997. She had her first solo exhibition at Snape Maltings in 1998. In 2000 Ann was presented to HM The Queen when her portrait of Sir Angus Johnstone Wilson was included in the opening of The Ondaatje Wing of the National Portrait Gallery.
Ann’s painting style is impressionistic, her drawing style in the manner of Thomas Rowlandson. The current revival in British landscape and interest in the people who worked at Bletchley Park has helped to reveal Ann’s talent. Throughout her life Ann was resolutely modest about her ability. She continued to live in Chelsea, still sketching and writing daily having retired from painting in 2010, until her death in September 2014.
Ann’s childhood was unconventional. Her parents lived separately and disapproved of formal education. They contrived that Ann was too ill to attend school and she was brought up in the country and given “freedom to express herself”. She was taught chess by her father and “everything else” by her mother. Ann’s childhood was unhappy and she sought solace in drawing and writing letters. Her precocious talent was spotted by the artist and sculptor Robert Anning Bell, a family friend. He encouraged Ann to go to art school and at 14 she was accepted at the Coventry Municipal School for Art. Following the blitz, she left for London, breaking relations with her mother, to live with her father. Ann resumed her studies at St Martin’s School of Art later transferring to The Central Schools of Art and Crafts where she was taught by Robert Buhler. Throughout this period she recorded in detail her experiences of life in London and at art school in letters to Anthony Rubinstein a childhood friend who was in the army.
Ann was called up in 1943 and through family connections found her-self decoding weather reports in the Japanese Section at Bletchley Park, where her lack of a formal education was seen as an advantage. Ann continued to draw and became well known for her portraits of colleagues. When the war came to an end a legacy from her grandfather enabled her to study at the École Nationale Supérieure Des Beaux Arts under the tutelage of Maître Souverbie. In 1949 she cut short her studies to marry Anthony Rubinstein.
Ann found combining her urge to paint with the duties of being a wife to a successful London solicitor and mother of three children challenging. From 1949 to her divorce in 1972 Ann’s output consisted mainly of landscapes, although she did paint a number of portraits, including Sir Angus Johnstone Wilson (National Portrait Gallery) whom she had known at Bletchley.
Following the divorce Ann devoted more time to drawing and painting. She exhibited work regularly at the Mall Galleries and was runner up for The Laing Prize, 1983 (Worcester Cathedral). She also started a long association with the Chelsea Arts Society. Ann is perhaps best known for her Cherry Tree series 1973 - 2006. In 1993 Ann realised her ambition to paint the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan when she became artist in residence in Kawashima, Gifu Prefecture. This experience had a profound impact and Ann's output increased throughout the 1990s. Following a second productive trip to Japan in 1997 Ann became Artist in Residence for the Aldeburgh Festival, 1997. She had her first solo exhibition at Snape Maltings in 1998. In 2000 Ann was presented to HM The Queen when her portrait of Sir Angus Johnstone Wilson was included in the opening of The Ondaatje Wing of the National Portrait Gallery.
Ann’s painting style is impressionistic, her drawing style in the manner of Thomas Rowlandson. The current revival in British landscape and interest in the people who worked at Bletchley Park has helped to reveal Ann’s talent. Throughout her life Ann was resolutely modest about her ability. She continued to live in Chelsea, still sketching and writing daily having retired from painting in 2010, until her death in September 2014.
