HAWORTH artist Joseph (Joe) Pighills is remembered here on the 30th anniversary of his death, aged 82. His works are still popular in the district.

Joe was a member of Keighley Art Club and Bradford Art Club. In Keighley the members would sometimes gather round and watch him drawing and painting. I wish I had met him.

A soft-backed catalogue produced in 1984 lists all the items by Joe that were exhibited at Cliffe Castle Museum and art gallery. The title of the tribute, ‘Nobbut A Bit O’ Mucky Watter’, well describes watercolour painting.

A photograph of Joe on the front cover was supplied by the Yorkshire Post. Out of 104 exhibits, 48 were oil, goulash and cryla (correct), and the remaining 56 were listed as watercolours.

Some of the titles showed Joe’s diverse talent: Snowdon, Butt Lane Haworth, The Last Of The Theatre Keighley, Rievaulx, Norfolk Landscape, Pines Verdala Malta, being a few.

The exhibition ran from May to July 1985.

Item 73 in the catalogue was a self-portrait in oil, which was prompted by a session with Keighley Art Club in 1949. In the picture there is a pipe in his mouth. He wears an open-necked shirt and baggy sleeveless top.

Joe’s chiselled features are highlighted by the direction of the light. Caroline Krzesinska, assistant keeper of fine art with Bradford Art Galleries, set up the exhibition.

Joe illustrated Alan Hadfield’s book Over Andes And Amazon in pen and ink from photographs, in 1964. Keighley Local History Society possesses a copy.

Ian Dewhirst’s Down Memory Lane column in the Keighley News included a photograph of two of Joe’s paintings which were being presented to the mayor of Poix-du-Nord, when a delegation from Keighley visited the French twin town in 1967 to attend the opening of a new college and sports ground that Keighley had adopted.

Haworth Parsonage produced a postcard showing one of Joe’s paintings of the access to the Brontë Parsonage. The copyright is that of local photographic artist Simon Warner, who photographed the image.

When the Keighley library celebrated its centenary in 2004, 19 Keighley artists were showcased in the exhibition Art In The Library. The leaflet stated that “they showed the vision and achievement of the people of Keighley”. Joe Pighills’ work was included, provided by his family and friends.

The notes for the public said Joe was an engineering pattern maker and that in 1963 there had been an exhibition of his work in Bradford’s Lane Gallery.

Keighley Art Club is still taking new members. Anyone interested should call 01535 669914 (preferably evenings) for details.

Our new programme has been printed. October evenings will start at 6.45pm and will include:. Renee Hart on watercolour landscapes (October 1), Malcolm Sharrock on canal scenes (October 8), members-only session with life model (October 15), David Starley demonstrates professional oil and palette knife, visitors welcome (October 22).

At Keighley Show, art club members Lorraine Green and Janet Horton both won a second prize and I won a third prize.

Keighley Art Club is represented in local art group Smallworld’s Postcards of Keighley exhibition at Cliffe Castle Museum, starting in late September..