Jack Pender was a British painter. Born in Mousehole, Cornwall in 1918, Pender first studied at the Penzance School of Art in 1938. His studies were halted by the outbreak of the Second World War, where he served with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry in France, North Africa, and Italy. Whilst stationed in Greece after the War, Pender began studying at the Athens School of Art before returning to England where he attended the Exeter College of Art and later the West of England College of Art. On completion of his studies, Pender taught for some time at the Plymouth School of Art. In the mid-1950s, Pender returned to his native Cornwall where he continued to serve as Head of the Art Department at a local school whilst painting bright town and seascapes of his beloved Mousehole.

Pender was a member of both the Newlyn Society of Artists and the Penwith Society of Arts, which he exhibited with regularly in St Ives, Plymouth and London. His distinctive paintings, closely linked to Cornish maritime life, became increasingly abstract in the late 1950s, capturing the essence rather than the reality of the views and locations the artist worked from. Pender participated in his first solo exhibition in 1963 at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol. His unique paintings of boats and quays proved to be particularly popular and the artist enjoyed great success in the following years participating in several group exhibitions both in England and abroad. Pender’s work was featured in the influential ‘St Ives: 1939-64’ exhibition held at the Tate in 1985. Pender was an important part of his local community, serving as Chairman of the Mousehole Harbour Authority in the 1980s, who shed light on the traditions and communities of his native Cornwall through his vibrant paintings. The artist died in 1998. His work is represented in a number of collections including that of Royal Cornwall Museum.