Telford artist and cancer survivor donates paintings worth £25k to Lingen Davies
A Telford-based artist and prostate cancer survivor has donated £25,000 worth of his art to a leading cancer charity in the region.
John Wragg, an artist, former art teacher and road manager for British rock band Roxy Music, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016.
The 78-year-old from Oakengates, was living in Spain at the time, and getting up in the night multiple times to go to the toilet so he visited a doctor who diagnosed him with an enlarged prostate and prescribed medication to help.
Putting off the biopsy he needed
While visiting the UK, John suffered a serious stroke and realised he still felt ill. He said he put off having the biopsy he needed, admitting he shouldn’t have, because when he finally saw a doctor in the UK for the procedure, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer which had spread.
He had 37 radiography sessions at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and is now clear of cancer.
John said: “The staff at the Centre were fabulous throughout all my treatment. But it’s very intense and one of the strangest things I have been through. Sitting in the centre for all that time I realised the walls could benefit from some colour so people would have nice things to look at while they are having their treatment.”
The abstract, geometric artist who has exhibited in the UK and internationally including America, Canada, Japan, and Europe and has donated 15 paintings and prints to the cancer charity which covers Shrewsbury, Telford and Wrekin, and Mid Wales.
One has been hung in the Hamar Centre, a wellbeing hub at the RSH and six are now on display in the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre.
Donations of artwork to raise funds
John has given the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund permission to use the donated prints to raise money for the charity and for the paintings to be used in the same way after his death.
“I wanted to try and make my work have some longevity. I don’t want it to all end up in the bin and I also wanted to just say thank you for the incredible treatment I received. I thought this was a good way to do that,” said John.
John, who is married to Juliet and has a daughter and two stepchildren, was born in Stockport and trained at St Martins School of Art in London gaining a First-Class Honours Degree in painting and printmaking.
He then trained as a teacher and while making art from a studio in Deptford, he started working at Holland Park School tasked with establishing the print making department.
“It was amazing, it was the first purpose built comprehensive school in Britain and there were 14 art teachers and a house system,” said John
In the staff room, John started chatting to a musician who was rehearsing with a band with a view to going somewhere with their music.
On the road with Roxy Music
John said: “They had a rehearsal space under Covent Garden and invited me along to a practice. I could tell straight away they were going to be really big. They were doing stuff no one else was doing and it was fascinating. I gradually got into helping them and they started doing agency gigs around London and in pubs and clubs.
“The band was Roxy Music run by Bryan Ferry and they were playing at the Odeon Cinema in Streatham one day and were signed by EG Management.
“The whole thing changed then, and the band started recording in studios and touring Britain and I became the road manager,” said John.
John even features on the band’s LP driving a motorbike down the road with a microphone attached to it.
After touring with the band in the US, John decided he wanted to return to his art. He had taken three cameras with him taking hundreds of photos on the tour and developing them, but all his luggage was lost at during the flight and he lost all of it.
John had several other art teaching jobs in and around London before moving to Church Stretton Comprehensive and later to a head of department position at North Shropshire College.
John was offered early retirement at aged 50 and took it and has concentrated on his art full time ever since.
A widely celebrated artist
He never wanted to be tied to galleries, but instead has exhibited widely and establish a meeting group of artists in Orgiva, Spain when he lived there for five years from 2013, which resulted in 650 members.
He is also a member of the Wellington Arts Collective and along with fellow member, sculptor Jacob Chandler, they set up the Wellington Arts Trail around open artists’ studios around Wellington.
“It was a very successful event,” said John. “I sold pieces as did many of the other artists involved and we might have a show in London as a group.
“I want to go on with my art as long as I can. I intend to die at my easel still working,” he added.
If the artwork in the Centre inspires anyone, they can speak to Lingen Davies about getting a print.
