MORE than 200 paintings by one of the district's best-known artists will go under the hammer today.

The paintings by John Strevens, who lived in Loughton from 1963 until his death in 1990, were put up for auction by his daughter, Bridget Strevens-Marzo, who also donated two of his works to St Margaret's Hospital, Epping.

“My father worked hard until he was in his 80s and then had Parkinson's and he was well looked-after there,” she said. “My mum was also ill and I took her to outpatients and sat there looking at the walls thinking how miserable it was not to have any colour.

“One is a painting of an apple tree. It's one of my favourite paintings, which I thought I should share.”

Strevens painted portraits of the Queen and Winston Churchill and was also known for his portraits of children and paintings of flowers, which were popular as prints in the 1960s.

Mrs Strevens-Marzo, 54, said she had kept some of her favourite paintings by her father, but is now selling his house in Loughton and does not have space to display them all.

“I have enough and I'm very happy to let them pass into the world,” she added. “The saddest thing is to have them all stacked up and gathering dust.

“I would love to be able to give some more to the community.”

The auction will be held at Boningtons in Old Station Road, Loughton, from 11am.