OCTOBER 29, 1987 – Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood, whose talents extend beyond the stage, hosted his first ever art exhibition in Britain at a London gallery, featuring portraits of his famous friends and rock stars from his past 20 years. As a child, Wood’s drawings were featured on the BBC television program “Sketch Club” and he won one of that program’s competitions, an achievement he refers to as his “awakening to art.” He went on to train at the Ealing Art College, as both his brothers had. Other notable musicians, Freddie Mercury of Queen and Pete Townshend of the Who, also attended in the 1960s. Several of Wood’s paintings, including a work commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, are permanently displayed at London’s Drury Lane Theatre. Art critic Brian Sewell has called Wood “an accomplished and respectable artist”.
