Harry paints his way to East-West success

For a man who only 18 months ago decided to chuck up commercial work completely and live on painting Harry Barr is doing remarkably well.

With a show of 60 watercolours in Moscow at the moment, he is the first British artist to have an exhibition in the Soviet Union. And this is not all. Tomorrow, the Kaplan Gallery in St. James's is putting on his first one-man show in London

Mr. Barr told me at his Marylebone flat: "I was tickled pink when the Russians came and went so mad about my work. The exhibition goes on to Minsk and Leningrad and I hear the Moscow Museum of Art want to purchase some paintings."

Mr. Barr and his wife Anna may possibly go to Moscow soon to spend the roubles accumulated by sales. "It's too difficult to get the money transferred to London," he said.

His latest work has been done on Box Hill. "I love being out in winter in some exposed spot," he said.