It’s been a while since I set up this blog, and longer than I care to admit since my first post entitled First Encounters. Since I began to push forward on my research into Glyn Uzzell in Spring 2023, I’ve been excited about where this project will take me and how it can help define a legacy for an artist whose work I admire. Like many people undertaking passion projects, I have been side-tracked by the busy comings and goings of my personal and professional lives, and the past few years have been punctuated by moments of research that I’m just now managing to put to paper.
Since Uzzell grew up in Swindon – the very town where I live and work – it is clear that the best way to get to know him is to get to know the people who love him. Conversations with the artist’s family and friends in and around Swindon have, so far, provided remarkable insight into Glyn as a man. For example, it has been heartening to learn that no matter where he went, or how well-travelled he became, he always saw himself as a “proper Swindonian” and returned regularly to visit friends and family.
I have been told about his love of music, teaching and Europe. Close friends recall an entire dinner party spent talking about chickens. His sister, Wendy, told me about his assistance with plays put on by young nieces and nephews. I have heard about his encouragement toward other artists, which is reflected in his rich teaching career and his co-ownership of the Galerie Contemporaine in Geneva.
Amongst amusing anecdotes and praise for his good humour, infectious smile and gigantic hands, I have also gleaned a few insights into what made Uzzell tick as an artist. His love of Cy Twombly and Piero della Francesca will be examined at a later date, along with works by contemporary printmakers, which he collected and represented in his gallery.
During one of my chats with Uzzell’s friend Graeme Broadbent, I was presented with a crate of archival material that Uzzell kept and collected over the years. It includes exhibition material, such as catalogues and invites dating back to the 1960s, and notebooks dating back even further, to his time at Goldsmiths College. There are newspaper clippings, photographs, exhibition plans, letters and sketches which give an idea of the artist’s vibrant career in England and abroad.
Along with anecdotal research and Graeme’s large collection of artworks by Uzzell, this goldmine of archival material will be at the centre of my research. Each document has its own story to tell, revealing something – whether minor or revelatory – about Uzzell’s life and work. As I examine and document each item, old questions are answered, gaps in knowledge filled, whilst new lines of enquiry materialise.
As my research continues to progress with small nudges and shuffles forward, I hope that readers follow this blog and join me in getting to know Glyn Uzzell.
Katie Ackrill, August 2026
Glyn Uzzell: Making a Mark 