Toby Ward is a man of apparent contradictions which, in fact, blend seamlessly. Having spent six years as an Army Officer, he could no longer resist the pull of his lifelong love of drawing and painting. He secured a place to study Fine Art – Painting at the City and Guilds of London

Art School and, as he describes it, ‘I left my barracks in Wiltshire at 8 o’clock in the morning and enrolled at art school at 10.30 a.m.’

At City & Guilds he won the Richard Ford Travel Award, which enabled him to spend a summer studying and drawing in Madrid and gave him a lifelong interest in Spanish art and culture, which is reflected in some of his work. 

Widely known for his conversation piece paintings and lively reportage drawings – and books of drawings - commissioned to record projects, places, people and events, he is also an accomplished portrait painter.

Conversation pieces and sport

Wherever he goes, Toby takes a sketch book and notes what he sees. From those sketched notes he makes paintings inspired by whatever was happening around him. Spain has reappeared in the latest series of paintings, following recent visits to Seville.

Toby has always enjoyed sport, as a participant and as a subject, especially road cycling and skiing and the way they interact with the landscape. A commission to draw the Tour de France led to a series of paintings inspired by cycle racing, to which he adds whenever time allows. Other sporting commissions include residencies at the The Open Golf Championship in 2004 and 2011.

Architectural/historical projects and interiors

Toby has spent a lot of time in ancient buildings, recording important architectural projects, including:

• rebuilding of the Royal Opera House; 
• conservation of Chastleton House in Oxfordshire for The National Trust; 
• renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square; and
• development of the The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Galleries and the new Weston Tower at Westminster Abbey.

He spent a year as artist-in-residence at Lincoln Cathedral, recording the life and work of the cathedral, its people and its congregation. This led to a commission by the City of Lincoln’s Historic Trust to paint the Lincoln Panoramas. A pair of large panoramic views of the city, one looking east and the other west, which are now in the collection of The Usher Gallery in Lincoln.

In 2019 he made a series of large works on paper documenting the working life of the House of Lords. He was the first artist to be invited to work in the Chamber of the House to record the debate and discussion of the peers.

Other residencies, and commissions to paint interiors, have included The Ritz Hotel, the Athenaeum Club, The Mercers’ Company, The Society of Antiquaries of London and Prideaux Place in Cornwall.

Portraits

Throughout his career Toby has constantly painted and drawn official portraits including HRH Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Lord Rothermere and Sir Sydney Kentridge and the Treasurers of Lincolns Inn as well as numerous private commissions.

The Books of Drawings

A unique area of Toby’s work is his Drawing Books. These complete books of drawings and watercolours of particular places and events have, to date, included weddings, tours overseas, much loved homes and whole lives in retrospect. The books can be found in The Royal Collection, The National Trust, The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum, The Royal Academy and a small number of private collections.

Book illustration

Toby has also illustrated several books, ranging in subject from the Great Game in central Asia in the 19th century, through the Cold War to life on the Island of Madeira and the popular series of spiritual books about The Enlightened Spaniel.

Military

His military connections and experience equipped him for some interesting work, including: being embedded with the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Bosnia, recording the experience of the British Army’s soldiers and, later, with The Royal Artillery to record their work as part of the NATO force in Bosnia; a painting of soldiers on patrol in Iraq, for The Royal Welch Fusiliers; and, in more peaceful times, drawing the lives of the soldiers of The Devon and Dorset Regiment while on Public Duties in London and Windsor.

He has also accompanied HRH The Prince of Wales to record a tour of the Gulf States.

Toby shows his work with the Catto Gallery, Lucinda Dalton Gallery and the New English Art Club, to which he was elected in 2010.