This snapshot of painter Robert Evans Hughes (generally known as Bob) came from Ann Hayes, then the hunt for more information began. Bob was born in 1896 in Llanrwst and moved with his family to Australia. While serving in the Australian Army in World War 1 he was badly injured and thereafter took up painting in Australia. Later he studied in Rome and London before settling in Rhyl.He lived upstairs in a house in Queen Street. He was a founder member of the art groups 'Prestatyn 57' and 'Colour Circle'; the latter used to meet in a back room of the Bay Tree cafe, 47 Wellington Road (now Asha’s Indian restaurant). The cafe’s proprietor Harry Jones was a member and so was local author Bill Ellis.
Bob produced a lot of pictures of landscapes and other subjects in oils and watercolours and exhibited widely. He seems to have been a man of generous spirit – gave away a lot of his work. The abstract dates from the late 1960s and is titled ‘High Summer Scene. The other was in the first of the prestigious John Moores Exhibitions (1957) and is titled ‘A Bend In The Conway’. The pictures were on sale recently at £850 and £1250 respectively.
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