Obituary - Joyce Stewart, artist and administrator

Died: May 1, 2017

JOYCE Stewart, who has died aged 90, was an artist, a talented seamstress and for a long time a striking presence in Dumbarton, where she worked as an administrator in the general office of the engineering firm Dewrance and Company.

Born in London, her dream of attending art college was ended by the escalation of the Second World War and the bombing of the family home. She diverted to the fashion industry, becoming a seamstress, working from home with her mother, Nell Pritchard.

She came to live in Scotland in 1950 after she met and married Dumbarton man John Stewart, who had served with the Armed Forces in Italy. Having indulged his passion for art and music, John delayed his return to Scotland to experience as many of London’s cultural delights as possible. He was an opera aficionado and the couple enjoyed their first date listening to a Bach symphony in the Albert Hall.

A strikingly handsome woman and a dedicated follower of fashion, Joyce was tall, slim and blonde. She stood out when she arrived in the douce town of Dumbarton, where, at the time, only the men wore trousers.

Naturally, she attracted attention, often wearing bright yellow slacks and trendy colourful clothes, which she designed and made herself.

In 1961, Joyce and John had their first and only child, Alison, and six months later they moved into Highbeltains, an unconventional 1920s architect-designed house at Barnhill, on the slopes of the Old Kilpatrick Hills, overlooking the River Clyde.

There she evolved into a mixture of style icon and Mother Earth figure, rearing chickens, cooking delicious dinners and planting a beautiful garden, where she grew both flowers and vegetables.

Her daughter Alison told friends in a eulogy delivered at Mrs Stewart's funeral that her parents lived the dream and that she herself had had an idyllic childhood. Mrs Stewart's husband died in December 2011, aged 88 and they were both buried at the South Downs Natural Burial Site.

Alison said: “My mother’s gift for drawing and painting continued to allow her to produce many landscapes of the country surrounding her mother’s home in Bamburgh, which she visited often.

“Perhaps, more importantly, the Loch Lomond vistas were a constant inspiration, as were the paths, trees, walls and flowers at her home and the nearby Overtoun Estate.

“The output became prolific and Joyce’s paintings hang in many Scottish homes and in houses large and small in other countries. Many of them were sold to raise money for charities.

“Glasgow was close by and was a constant attraction for Joyce. Innumerable days were spent at the family’s favourite Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and there were many visits to a succession of ballets, operas and classical recitals.”

She was a member of Dumbarton Art Club and her work was exhibited in libraries and other public buildings throughout West Dunbartonshire.

Fellow artist, Elizabeth King, from Helensburgh, said: “Joyce was a very talented artist and a great friend and mentor to so many of us who wanted to paint.”

Mrs Stewart moved away from Dumbarton with her late husband in 2000, when she was in remission from cancer, and went to live with Alison and her husband, David. She is survived by them and her grandchildren.

BILL HEANEY