In His Own Way, Harold Frederick Weaver Hawkins in Malta (1926-1930)

Description

Harold Frederick Weaver Hawkins (1883-1977) was an English artist who spent three years in Malta from 1926 to 1930. The British press pitched him as a capable artist, however when critiquing his work, their focus was largely on his physical disability. A British newspaper called him the ‘handless painter’ when it was clear that, although disabled and disadvantaged, he was not ‘handless.’ Before Hawkins and his wife arrived in Malta, the couple lived for a year in St. Tropez, (1924), eight months outside Siena (1925), followed by a short stint in Sicily (1926) before briefly returning to England (1926). They arrived in Malta sometime in 1926. The artist’s stay on the island presented him with an opportunity to separate his disability from his professional life as an artist. Weaver Hawkins’ first and second series of Maltese linocut scenes were destined for sale to tourists, especially the day trippers off the cruise liners calling at Valletta, and to collectors of prints. His linocut prints capture life on the island, but offer a more modern perspective to other local artists who were still painting in a traditional mode. In addition to the several linocuts, watercolours, oils and postcards he produced in Malta, the artist and his wife published two illustrated books for children. In his determination to avoid unwanted publicity as a ‘handless’ artist, Weaver Hawkins never garnered acclaim as a major artist in Malta although his accomplishments should say otherwise. He went about his life and continued to paint ‘in his own way’ valuing artistic, intellectual and physical freedom over everything else.