Gerald Cains

Born in 1932 Gerald Cains was trained at the Southern College of Art in Portsmouth, attaining the National Diploma in 1953. Gerald Cains was teaching in the Technical School (Jarvis Street) and he would paint the rapidly change streets scenes of Barton Hill, during the 1960’s in what he describes as the 'decayed fringe' of Bristol. Barton Hill was regarded by the Bristol City Council as a slum and when it was redeveloped in the late 1950s and 1960s. Victorian houses were knocked down and many Barton Hill people were moved miles away to the outskirts of Bristol.

There are two known paintings of Barton Hill, both on display at The Bristol Art Gallery and Museum. The first is called The Broken Roundabout. The children's roundabout is broken and useless, with disappointed people walking away. It was in a small park known as The King George V Memorial park on the south side of the Feeder Canal in Barton Hill. The second is called Terraced House Demolition. This painting cries out in way how the community of Barton Hill was torn down and ripped apart.

Gerald used to take his pupils sketching in the area which he described as 'a visual goldmine for a "Social Realist" painter' Gerald taught on Barton Hill at the old Jarvis Street Barton Hill School site. The Building Department of the Bristol Technical School used part of the original 1875 building. A book by David Woods (2009) called “Third Way” is a Comprehensive history of The Bristol Technical School, covering the history from September 1940 to closure 23 July 1965. After closure Gerald went to Boot Lane School in Bedminster to teach.

In conversation with Ruth Cains, Gerald’s’ wife, in May 2020, she said that Gerald did all his paintings “on the spot” with no photographs. He really was a brilliant artist who captured the changes going on in Barton Hill so evocatively.