Louis Keene (1888-1972)

Born in England Keene spent his youth in South aftrica and most of his life in Canada but studied art in London, Paris and Munich. He came from an artistic background: his mother was a prominent photographer (the first woman to be elected to the Royal Photographic Society) and his father and artist and craftsman. When he was only 17 Louis and his father held a joint exhibition of their paintings in South Africa. Keene travelled throughout his life,in Europe but also Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Hong Kong, Mexico and Siberia. Throughout his army career Keene was an avid artist, using watercolour, ink and pencil, and India ink and chalk to create his pictures. They range from scenes he completed in Siberia during WWI (Canadian Expeditionary Force) to WWII paintings inspired by events in Surrey and London. When Keene was stationed at Tweedsmuir Camp (Surrey) during the Second World War, he permitted a few of his paintings to be exhibite