Street corner Hackney, East London

Noel Gibson 1928 -2006, was a Scottish born painter who lived in the East End of London. Gibson was a self taught artist who lived in London and spent a great deal of time painting the area around where he lived, particularly painting architectural history including damaged buildings and their surroundings leaving out people but concentrating on the classical structures. He loved the period of the East End homes, painting them just before they were redeveloped, the whole area was badly damaged during WW11 and consequently rows of late 18th and early 19th Century houses were lost or so badly damaged that they were reduced to rubble and were replaced by the new design blocks that are in view today. Gibson regularly experienced painting a street scene only to return at a later date to see it demolished and forever lost. His work is seen a an historical register of lost streets and houses and therefore his paintings are viewed as a reference of a time gone by which the local population have grown to love, admire and collect. Tower Hamlets Council possess a large number of his paintings and they have held exhibitions in his memory which were eagerly attended by the East End population all to great acclaim. He was a successful artist within his lifetime and his shows were a sell out, he claimed the buildings were his inspiration for his works which were mostly painted during the late 1960's and early 1970's, unfortunately a great many of the streets are now sadly missing, but the paintings remain as a reminder of a lost generation of local homes.