John Scanes

Who was John Scanes?

John Scanes was born John Zuschlag in Whitechapel, London. His family changed their name by deed poll in 1942 during World War II, adopting his mother’s maiden name. Most of his work is signed 'John Scanes' but for a brief period in the early 1960s he signed some items ‘John Zuschlag’.

Scanes' life as an artist can be traced from the age of 14, when he began to draw and sketch whilst working as an office boy in the city during World War II. He had no formal schooling after that age, and was entirely self-taught as an artist.

After National Service, Scanes worked in the paper and pharmaceutical industries before becoming a full-time artist and sculptor in 1959. His first known solo exhibition was an open-air exhibition at Brighton in the summer of 1959. He was part of the early 1960s movements to bring art within the reach of everybody. To that end, he exhibited at both the Whitechapel Art Gallery and the Chelsea Show. Following the example of Stanley Spencer, whose work he greatly admired, he also hung works on the railings of the Royal Academy, at Green Park, and co-founded the Bayswater Road exhibition. During the 1970s he exhibited through Nicholas Treadwell's Gallery.