Truro – born John Clarke Isaac Uren (1845 - 1932) was a renowned seascape painter.

Trained at Penzance School of Art, he exhibited across Britain as well as in Canada and New Zealand. Originally right handed, Uren switched painting hands following an accident to his right shoulder. Critics noted that he ‘switched hands with no noticeable loss of ability or quality’.

Living in Hampstead when the First World War broke out, Uren was, like all artists, banned from painting outdoors especially on the coast.  If they flouted this law then they put themselves at risk of arrest for espionage but he was able to resume after the armistice.