He was a Cumbrian lad. But he has left a legacy to Manchester.
Firstly hundreds of school children were inspired by him during his 22 years as a popular English teacher at St Peter's RC High School in Prestwich - now St Monica's. But, despite a 'tearaway' past, he had a special talent.
This month it will be unveiled to the city he adopted as his home. 'Dear Manchester' is a collection of 40 oil paintings and several charcoal sketches by the late David Langston, who came to the city 53 years ago in search of work.
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The famous Express newspaper buildings on Great Ancoats Street, the Hacienda nightclub, Manchester Central Station, and Angel Meadows are among the iconic landmarks and buildings which feature in an exhibition being staged in the Northern Quarter at the Saan 1 Art Gallery on March 18 and 19.
The show, curated by the late artist’s wife Ann Langston, also features some well-known Lancashire scenes too and is open to the public free for the weekend, as a celebration of the artist’s passion for the city, region and for his love of art.
Langston, who died in March last year, aged 80, was an avid sketcher and painter for over five decades, finding a passion for painting and creativity after being something of a self-described 'tearaway' in his youth.
The ‘adopted’ Mancunian made Manchester his home, following his marriage and lived in Prestwich and then Bury in his later years. He was father to two daughters, Clare and Katy, who have helped organise the show.
Ann said: "David painted in oils mainly - his first picture at a night class in Whitefield, which he attended in 1974. His range of subjects included city centre buildings such as The Hacienda, Town Hall, Express Building, GMex, Angel Meadow, Tobacco Factory, Midland Hotel, Sunlight House, The Pot of Beer Pub, Red Bank, Refuge Building/Oxford Street, Miller Street, Ancoats Police Station, Skyline Central and The Imperial War Museum.
"He also painted trees and countryside near home, Aden (Yemen), dereliction, ships and boats. He was influenced by Kirchener and Macke."
She added: "David moved to Manchester, walking with the aid of two sticks, in 1967 after two years in hospital following a near fatal accident.
"He had been in a series of dead-end jobs, then joined the Army and served in Aden before joining the Merchant Navy – and he came to Manchester because he couldn’t get work at home, in Carlisle.
"David painted purely for pleasure – though when he joined the army his talent was recognised, and it was suggested he might become an army artist – but that never happened.
"He had a busy working life teaching at a secondary school - St. Peter’s, and marking exam papers for the JMB and AQA, but when he was semi-retired teaching adults in FE colleges, he began to have the time and freedom to paint.
"David loved the people of Manchester – whom he found warm and friendly – he met me and my family there and was delighted to be able to walk into a job at the Labour Exchange, albeit on sticks, coming as he did from Carlisle, which he described in his poems as ‘a workless northern town’.
"Above all he loved the fact that although he had only been in Manchester a short time, he received a free education at St. John’s College where he took two ‘A’ levels, and was again funded by Manchester City Council to do a degree at the University of Hull.
"He was also funded to do a Cert Ed at Hopwood Hall College and an MA at Salford University. He always felt that living in Manchester had given him an opportunity to turn his life round - and it did."
Curating her late husband's work was a tough task. for Ann "It was very hard because it was emotional trying to work out when pictures had been painted and identifying where – and we still don’t know where some of them are painted – so any ideas from the public would be great.
"Also, he frequently gave away his works so there was a bit of a hunt to find some of them – and some we still can’t find. We have been helped by Ken and Sophia at the SAAN gallery who have organised the works into groups. He probably did something in the region of 70 pieces in all."
Some of the works will be for sale, but Ann said: "It is difficult to know which – I can’t part with a lot of them. We hope to give 25 percent of proceeds to charities such as to Médecins Sans Frontières, Christian Aid, Amnesty, Red Cross and many more which he contributed to monthly."
The gallery will be open to the public on Sat 18th and Sun 19th between 12pm and 6pm. Free entry. http://saan1.space
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