RAISON, Jen

1933 - 2017

As Jennifer Mary Sutcliffe, she was born at Marylebone, London on 31 March 1933, third daughter of the four children of Sir Harold Sutcliffe (11 December 1897-20 January 1958), barrister-at-law and an M.P., and his first wife Emily Theodora née Cochrane (20 June 1905-28 April 1981), who married at St George's Church, Hanover Square, London on 28 July 1926, but they later separated. Jennifer was educated at Crofton Grange, Buntingford, Hertfordshire and studied at the Open University, gaining a B.A. in Humanities but had no formal art training although she had drawn pictures since the age of three, often sketching imaginary dragons in family groups. Jennifer married at Christ Church, Virginia Water, Surrey in October 1958, John Patrick Raison (March 1931-16 August 2020), a stockbroker, and they had two sons and a daughter. In the 1970s Jennifer opened a puppet and mask shop 'Harlequin House' at Notting Hill Gate, London and was able to travel to India to learn about puppetry. When they moved to Leiston, Suffolk, the London shop was closed but Jennifer retained some of her favourite puppets at their Suffolk home. A painter in oil and acrylic and one of the first group of members of the Association of British Naïve Artists and exhibited at the Aldeburgh Gallery; Thompson's Gallery, Aldeburgh; Cobbold & Judd at Hintlesham Hall, all in Suffolk, Mall Galleries in London; International Naïve Artists, Verneuil-sur-Avre, near Paris; at the Royal College of Art and elsewhere. Author of ‘Caraboo: The Servant Girl Princess’ (1994). Jennifer Mary Raison had her studio at The Old Rectory, Theberton, Leiston, Suffolk and died on 13 November 2017.

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Works by This Artist