Fred Yates was born, one of twin brothers, in Manchester, England 1922.

Fred worked as an insurance clerk, in the family business before being drafted into the Grenadier Guards at the age of 19. His twin brother was killed in 1944. Subsequently Fred returned to Manchester determined to become an artist. He was anxious to escape what he described as “ …..the tightness, discipline and torture of my childhood.”

The lively working class of Manchester were his strongest influence. Factories, holidays by the seaside, punch and Judy shows, dancing girls and music halls. His earlier painted figures were isolated, with no hands and little contact, reflecting his stiff Victorian upbringing.

For Fred the beauty in art resided in simplicity and a child's eye. Fred used his colour to break free from his influence of L.S Lowry. Fred became known as the self styled 'Happy Lowry'.

A lifelong bachelor, Fred sought a simple, uncomplicated life and soon appreciated the joie de vivre of rural France and became greatly inspired by french artists, Van Gogh, Monet and Cezanne.

Fred remained modest in the face of success, maintaining the freedom and solitude that were essential to his life of painting. He stayed in France until his death and spent most of his waking moments capturing the beauty of the countryside in the Haute-Vienne.

Fred died in 2008 and is buried in Cornwall, England.