Eve Montgomery

Eve Montgomery was born on 8th February 1915 to the sound of ‘Bow Bells’ in Caledonian Road, North London. After the family moved to Ship Street in Brighton, Eve’s artistic training began in the doctor’s waiting room where, as a ten-year-old schoolgirl, she drew caricatures of all the patients who came to consult her father, Dr Hugh Hands.

Five years later she went to stay with her grandparents in the heart of London. They nurtured her love of art by sending her to the London Polytechnic School of Art. After just a year, in 1932, she was forced to give up her studies because of the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of her father.

Eve met and married William Patrick ‘Monty’ Montgomery, son of Lady Graham Montgomery. Monty’s vain and occasionally neurotic demeanour seemed to propel Eve deeper into a world of cartooning where she spared no one from her pen: husband, young daughter, cats, dogs, indeed anyone or anything at all.

During the outbreak of World War II, the couple worked in the War Office. It was there that Eve completed her first assignments as a professional artist. A War Office public relations officer, impressed by the caricatures she was drawing of members of the staff, introduced her to Arthur Leslie Cranfield, editor of the now defunct The Star newspaper, who engaged her as a freelance theatrical caricaturist.

Theatres were closed on the outbreak of the war. However, many reopened soon after to lift public morale although most shows were matinées or early evening performances. It is always a source of wonder that despite bombs dropping, a lack of transport and the darkness of that time, theatre life thrived in London during this period. Despite the extraordinary challenges, a rather shy twenty-eight-year-old was often seen sitting in her reserved seat in the front row of the stalls amongst luminaries such as Arthur Ferrier and Victor ‘Vicky’ Weisz, sketching members of the cast in her notepad with opera glasses in hand.

Time was precious as she had to complete her caricatures in pen and Indian ink in time to deliver them to the newspaper offices by three o’clock in the morning for publication. Laurence Olivier and other stars acquired many of her original drawings from The Star reviews.

The Swinging Sixties were prevalent in the King’s Road, Chelsea where a group of artists exhibited their work at the Open Air Art Exhibition every Saturday. Sensing the importance of this historical moment, her paintings at that time reflected all the vibrancy of that area.

Her technique was interesting. She would sculpt her canvas using her fingers together with a pallet knife whilst constantly puffing on a cigarette and sometimes even two; this added smoke and ash as subtle and unique textural bonuses to her paintings. 

It was during a stroll down the King’s Road that William Collins (brother of Joan Collins) saw her work and told Oscar Lerman (husband of novelist Jackie Collins, American businessman and artistic agent) of his discovery. In 1973 Lerman exhibited Eve’s paintings at an exhibition at his Bramante Gallery in Victoria. At the first showing, Michael Caine bought five of her paintings; Oliver Reed, Vic Feather and other famous people followed suit.

After the demise of the popularity of King’s Road, she moved to Brighton and again, always ahead of her time, began cartooning from television. 

In 1974, an art gallery in Paris wished to exhibit her work but, sadly, this never came to fruition. Unfortunately, her health had deteriorated, and Eve Montgomery died in September 1975 before the event could take place.