Up in smoke: the artist who lost 1000 paintings in a house fire

Max Ayres has spent much of his life capturing Lancashire – and himself – without ever selling a painting. Now a blaze has transformed much of his singular body of work

Max Ayres has a hole in his head. Well, his self-portrait does. He’d like to fix it, but there’s a great big gash in the canvas. As he steps into his living room, the corner of the ceiling droops down in a great triangle. The walls around him are black. He faces another self-portrait where flames have stripped away his entire body. Each wall of his modest council flat is covered with paintings – self-portraits, still lifes, some stored, some hung. Ayres has more than 1,000 in total – and most are now burnt.

“I don’t like to say the phrase ‘got on like a house on fire’ any more,” he tells me. He was relocated in February after his flat caught fire while he was in hospital, yet in late September with the threat of autumn looming, he’s still there. “This is supposed to be temporary,” he says, as he shows me around, “but it’s not temporary enough. It’s an insult to buildings.”

Topics

Republican Senate candidate’s fire fighting company could go up in smoke
Business - Financial Times - 5 days ago
‘I’m a creative military’: London embraces Ghanaian artist who chose to paint, not fight
World - The Guardian - October 24
Van Gogh’s smoking skeleton and Munch’s sickly sex-scapes: great artists’ ghoulish sides revealed
World - The Guardian - 2 days ago
Soldiers who lost both legs in Afghanistan reunite
Top stories - BBC News - October 26
Harris ramps up her attempt to court Black male voters with Obama and a fresh media blitz
Top stories - NBC News - October 14
Jean Tinguely — artist who created poetry from motion
World - Financial Times - 4 days ago
Rapper Wiz Khalifa, indicted by Romanians for smoking a joint, lists Pittsburgh house for $1.3 million
Business - MarketWatch - 3 days ago
Alan 'Sky' Magary, an Airline Executive Who Said No to Smoking on Planes, Dies at 82
World - The Wall Street Journal - October 25
Rising lung cancer rates in Asian women who don't smoke worry experts
Top stories - CBS News - 4 days ago

Latest in World

As Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead, they grapple with what it means to hold on to tradition
World - ABC News - 10 minutes ago
UK Conservative Party picks Kemi Badenoch as its new leader
World - ABC News - 10 minutes ago
A ship captain is snatched in Lebanon and officials probe Israel's involvement
World - ABC News - 10 minutes ago
England v New Zealand: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – live
World - The Guardian - 11 minutes ago
West Indies v England: second men’s one-day cricket international – live
World - The Guardian - 11 minutes ago

Up in smoke: the artist who lost 1000 paintings in a house fire

Topics

Related

Republican Senate candidate’s fire fighting company could go up in smoke

‘I’m a creative military’: London embraces Ghanaian artist who chose to paint, not fight

Van Gogh’s smoking skeleton and Munch’s sickly sex-scapes: great artists’ ghoulish sides revealed

Soldiers who lost both legs in Afghanistan reunite

Harris ramps up her attempt to court Black male voters with Obama and a fresh media blitz

Jean Tinguely — artist who created poetry from motion

Rapper Wiz Khalifa, indicted by Romanians for smoking a joint, lists Pittsburgh house for $1.3 million

Alan 'Sky' Magary, an Airline Executive Who Said No to Smoking on Planes, Dies at 82

Rising lung cancer rates in Asian women who don't smoke worry experts

More from The Guardian

US election live: ‘improbably tight’ polls questioned by experts as race enters final days

Spain floods disaster: 5,000 more troops drafted in to deal with aftermath

Death toll rises as protesters rage against Mozambique election result

Middle East crisis live: ‘apocalyptic’ north Gaza hit again by deadly Israeli strikes

Kemi Badenoch wins Tory leadership election

Latest in World

As Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead, they grapple with what it means to hold on to tradition

UK Conservative Party picks Kemi Badenoch as its new leader

A ship captain is snatched in Lebanon and officials probe Israel's involvement

England v New Zealand: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – live

West Indies v England: second men’s one-day cricket international – live