Elizabeth Ganson

Biography

Elizabeth Ganson was born in 1929 just outside Paris, France, from a mix of Russian and English parentage. She spent her early years in Paris growing up in this most artistic of environments, but with the onset of World War II things soon had to change. Her father went back into the British Navy and after a rough time in occupied Paris, as well as a period in a concentration camp, in 1945, together with her mother, she moved to London, England.

Even at this early point in her life Elizabeth Ganson knew that her passion was in art. On arriving in England she immediately enrolled into art college. She proved so successful that she was soon taken on by the world famous St Martins School of Art for the next four years.

Although Elizabeth Ganson knew that her heart was given to art she also knew that, especially in those days, it was impossible to survive on art. Elizabeth Ganson realised that she had to find an alternative source of income. As Elizabeth Ganson never did anything traditional or conformist she decided to go into ballet! She enrolled herself in the Legat School of Ballet (Tunbridge Wells) and studied ballet for the next two years, but her art was never far away. The opportunity to pick up a brush soon materialised and she volunteered to paint the walls of the college, but not as expected in one colour, but rather with huge murals. Murals that are still talked about today by former students. Unfortunately nothing lasts forever and all of those early works were lost forever when the school was torn down.

After graduating ballet school Elizabeth Ganson decided to go off on a European adventure. Details of which are still shrouded by a coy smile that lights up Elizabeth Ganson’s face every time someone asks her what went on in those years. What is known is that she set off from England to Italy on a promise of a ballet tour. After paying for the boat ticket she left England with just a penny in her pocket. On arriving in Italy, and with no ability to speak Italian, she survived hand to mouth, sometimes dancing, sometimes as an au pair, but art was always on her mind. While travelling she would always find time to sketch or to visit art studios wherever she was (Italy, Spain and Paris).

In the mid 50’s Elizabeth Ganson stumbled across Paris again and her life was about to change once more. On one fateful Sunday Elizabeth Ganson was in church and her heart went out to a dashing, and charming, alter boy, but timing could not have been worse. She had just been entrusted to lead a new ballet group on a tour of Europe. A tour that was to last over a year and keep her away from her newly found love. She soon had to go back to England where she meet with the company owner. He entrusted her with all the money, travel tickets, documentation and passports for the group. A real position of trust.

Days later she gathered the company at London Victoria station and they were off. She was agitated all the way to Paris. In Paris they had a short stop where she turned to her best friend, handed him all the money, tickets and documentation and wished him luck. With that she jumped off the train and through the steam of the train she ran into the arms of her newly found love. After that life was not easy, but this man was soon to become her husband.

Elizabeth Ganson then concentrated on her marriage and survival, she soon moved back to England to bring up 4 children. Much later in the mid 80’s, as soon as the children had grown, she started to crave the feeling of a paintbrush in her hand again. Although her return to painting was slow, after all she still had a family to care for; she still managed to find time to paint. Once her husband retired and they had moved to the peaceful countryside of Cognac in France she started to paint again in earnest. There in Cognac Elizabeth Ganson found her true potential and confidence. Encouraged by friends and family she spent a good deal of her time experimented with many styles and media.

From that point Elizabeth Ganson has never looked back and even after the death of her husband in 2004 Elizabeth Ganson still paints today in her 80’s, although in a display of her irreverent humour she says that her ballet is no longer practiced as much.