Star’s pictures still up for sale

Reg enjoyed painting as a hobby for much of his life 

Only a few weeks remain until the end of a sale at Budleigh’s museum which offers the chance of owning an original signed Reg Varney oil painting.

The star of ‘The Rag Trade’ and ‘On the Buses’ was a talented actor and a gifted musician, but he was also a skilled artist.  

Reg did this sketch of two dogs at the age of 14

Reg Varney wanted to go to art school, but failed the maths exam. He followed a different career path, but always enjoyed painting.

A number of his pictures, on loan from his family, are now on display in Fairlynch Museum as part of a free exhibition which runs until October 30.

 

Seven of the paintings are being auctioned off to raise money for the charity Children’s Hospice South West, which runs hospices in Devon, Cornwall and Bristol, and which is marking its 25^th anniversary in 2016. 

You can see the pictures on the museum’s website at  http://fairlynchmuseum.uk/the%20museum/exhibitions/2016/2016-1.html  

There are also details of how to bid, and the current best bids.

Reg Varney’s daughter Jeanne is pleased with the likely outcome of the sale: ‘I am very encouraged by the interest in bidding so far,’ she said.  ‘I hope we can give the Children`s Hospice a nice cheque.’

Josh Allan, community fundraiser at Children’s Hospice South West’s Little Bridge House hospice in North Devon commented: ‘This is such an exciting art sale and we are privileged to be the charity benefiting from the auction. Reg Varney was such a great character and I think there are many of us that were unaware of what a talented artist he was!’