Tottenham Landscapes

John Godden (1930 – 1999)

In 1972, the artist John Godden went out exploring Haringey on his bike as he sought inspiration for a series of new landscapes to be part of his first exhibition at Bruce Castle. He was drawn to the area so much that he decided to move to Tottenham – setting up home at 10 Hampden Lane for the next 15 years. It was to be another seven years until his next exhibition at Bruce Castle in 1979. Creating his artwork for exhibitions always had to be carried out at the weekends or on holidays – he was very much a ‘weekend artist’. During the week he was a professional librarian working in Islington at Finsbury Library.

Godden enjoyed exploring the contrasts of nature and the built environment of Tottenham in his paintings. As he once described it, his choice of composition was for "the dishevelled buildings with plenty of texture". 

(Behind Tottenham High Road by John Godden, 1975-1980. This anonymous view of the rear exterior of a building in Tottenham High Road is full of the character that attracted Godden to move to Tottenham in the 1970s. From the collections at Bruce Castle Museum and Archive. © the artist’s estate)

In addition to their artistic merit and unusual photographic style, Godden's works are a valuable resource for local historians, depicting landscapes and buildings many of which have changed significantly or been demolished.

During the 1960s, another artist Cornelius McCarthy (1935-2009) was working in the arts for Southwark. In his own time, he was also developing his artwork and establishing a painting style. He valued his friends and through them often met other new artists, who he collaborated with. 
Through an introduction by Paul Joyce, a mutual friend, Cornelius first met John Godden. On learning more about how much they had in common as an amateur painter and architecture enthusiast, John was soon joining Cornelius and his partner Alec for concert and theatre trips. Later on, John and Cornelius exhibited their work together at Camden Passage in Islington.

It was through Cornelius that John came to visit Tottenham and Haringey back in 1972. Cornelius had started to work for Haringey Council as the Arts Officer for the borough and was based at Bruce Castle Museum & Archive in 1972. Once a Tottenham resident. John met regularly with Cornelius and other artists including Colin Ward, Violet Fuller and Beatrice Camm to paint together and exhibit together. In 2017 Bruce Castle Museum and Archive held a retrospective exhibition of all their work as a circle of friends.

(Bruce Castle Viewed from the Roundway, by John Godden, 1971. From the collections at Bruce Castle Museum and Archive. © the artist’s estate)

Further resources

Read more about John Godden’s work and his time in Tottenham

See John Godden’s artwork in the collections of Bruce Castle Museum and Archive alongside other museums and galleries, on Art UK. 

Find out more about John Godden’s life on this dedicated website by his friend Bob Hart, John Godden Paintings