The art world and British cultural circles are mourning the loss of Jane Birt, an Anglo-American painter and illustrator, who has died from cancer at the age of 82.
A Creative Life Across Continents
Born in Washington DC, Jane was one of three children to James Lake, a former naval intelligence codebreaker, and Susan, a nurse. She grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and pursued her passion for art by studying at the Carnegie Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh.
In 1962, driven by wanderlust, she and her lifelong friend Peggy van Etten Coats travelled from the United States to study at the prestigious Ruskin School of Art at Oxford University. It was in Oxford that she immersed herself in the arts scene and met engineering student John Birt, whom she married in 1965. John Birt would later become a prominent TV producer, the Director-General of the BBC in 1992, and was made a life peer as Lord Birt in 2000.
Artistic Career and Community Spirit
Jane Birt's artistic practice was versatile, encompassing both watercolours and oils. Her work was exhibited in notable venues including the Portico Gallery in Manchester, Leighton House in London, and the Mall Galleries. She also lent her talents to book illustration, most notably for Russell Harty's 1988 travelogue, Mr Harty’s Grand Tour.
More recently, in 2024, she co-authored an illustrated memoir with Peggy van Etten Coats titled The Oxford Asparagus Society, chronicling their transatlantic journey to the UK in the 1960s.
Throughout her life, Jane was renowned for her generosity and ability to forge lasting friendships. She was a spirited host at the family's homes in London and, from the 1970s, in rural mid-Wales. In the 1980s, seeking light relief from the scrutiny of her husband's high-profile BBC role, she founded the flamboyant Hat Club, organising literary and cultural excursions for friends.
Later Years and Enduring Legacy
After a diagnosis of breast cancer in the 1990s, Jane faced decades of health challenges with remarkable positivity and determination to remain socially and creatively engaged. Following her divorce in 2006, she settled full-time in the Welsh village of Crickadarn.
There, she returned to her art with renewed energy and immersed herself in local community life, serving as vice-president of the Gwenddwr show and a trustee of the Brecknock Wildlife Trust. She even took up the unusual hobby of Welsh trotting, or harness racing.
Her family and friends will remember her boundless joie de vivre. Her grandchildren cherish memories of festive dinners, eclectic garden egg hunts, and her tradition of sending uniquely hand-painted birthday cards to loved ones every year. Jane Birt is survived by her son, Yahya, her daughter, Eliza, and her five grandchildren. Her two brothers predeceased her.
