Exeter Civic Society has unveiled the plaque to Frederick John Widgery, a renowned artiist and former mayor of the city at 11 Howell Road. It was dedicated by the society's blue plaque co-ordinator John Monks with the inscription:
Exeter Civic Society. F. J. Widgery, 1861-1942, Landscape painter and Freeman of Exeter, lived here, 1891-1940.
Frederick John Widgery, known as FJ, lived most of his life in Exeter.
Widgery bought 11 Howell Road from his father (William Widgery, was also an artist) after he returned to Exeter following his art training and a short spell in London, and lived here for the next 49 years. It was a short walk from his home to his studio at 20a Queen Street.
He loved Exeter and Devon, with his primary source of inspiration being Dartmoor, but he also painted scenes of the Exe estuary and Woodbury Common, sections of the Devon and Cornwall coastline, and recorded the city and its buildings in his sketches and drawings.
As a city councillor he was deeply involved in local politics and was appointed mayor in 1903. Civic honours awarded to him included honorary Freeman of Exeter 1905, alderman 1909, and Justice of the Peace in 1912. He was chair of Exeter's planning committee until 1938 and at the centre of changes to bring the city up to date. He was also a captain in the 1st Devon and Somerset Royal Engineer Volunteers.
He is buried in Exwick Cemetery.
The plaque was sponsored by a grant from Bury Meadow Residents' Association supported by Devon County Council and Exeter City Council.
