A STAINED glass artist credited with leaving Oxfordshire “a legacy to treasure” will be celebrated at a talk.

Former Henley resident John Piper, a “master of diversity” whose striking work adorns church windows around the county, will be remembered on March 3.

The Rev Ian Browne said it will be a pleasure to return to Abingdon School, where he studied 50 years ago, to lead the discussion of his work.

The 64-year-old said: “John Piper’s varied art works, paintings, prints, stained glass and stage designs inspired so many of us in what was a rather drab post-war Britain.

“His love of colour, his sympathy for British landscapes and his affection for our churches and houses, great and small, was shared with the poet John Betjeman, who lived in Wantage.

“The artist and the poet between them inspired a generation and have given us a legacy to treasure.”

Mr Piper, who wrote and illustrated a guide to Oxfordshire, died in 1992.

Sunlight streams through his art in sacred places including Nuffield College Chapel in Oxford, St Mary’s Church in Iffley and St Bartholomew Church in Nettlebed.

Jane Bowen, who has just retired as curator at Abingdon County Hall Museum, said: “He was a very interesting artist.

“He worked with all types of media. He did paintings of buildings and worked as a potter – he was a master of diversity.

“He became an expert in pretty much anything he touched.

“The famous one he did was a drawing of Windsor Castle. The Queen Mother apparently commented that he always used rather dramatic dark skies.”

Mr Piper was an official war artist during the Second World War, critically acclaimed for his painting of Coventry Cathedral after it was shattered by a bomb.

Abingdon School will host the talk from 7.30pm, at its Amey Theatre in Park Road.

The artist’s legacy will continue to live on at an upcoming exhibition in the Bohun Gallery in Henley, which directly worked with Mr Piper for 40 years.

Director Patricia Jordan Evans said: “The memory of my first meeting with John Piper is still vivid.

“In spite of being a rather daunting figure, tall, gaunt and with striking features, he soon revealed himself to be surprisingly modest.”

The exhibition will run from April 12 until June 4.