Raymond John Coutu (1924 – 2017) or Jack Coutu, as he later preferred to call himself, was an English engraver, carver, watercolourist and teacher. His work was greatly influenced by the art of East Asia.

Jack Cutu was born in Farnham, Surrey, and after leaving school in 1940 went to work for Abbott of Farnham, a coachbuilder, where his father, Bert Cutu, also worked, who painted coats of arms and heraldic shields. In 1942, at the height of World War II, he served in the Royal Corps of Signals in Ceylon, India and Singapore, and finished his service in Kure, in the Japanese prefecture of Hiroshima.

From 1947 to 1951 Kutu studied at the Farnham School of Art, then at the Royal College of Art in London (1951-1954) and at the Central School of Art (1951-1955). After graduation, Kutu chose to teach printmaking at the Central School of Art and later at the West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham. Jack Kutu’s passion for the art of netsuke became his life’s work. He was a member of the Kenkyukai Netsuke Carvers Society and a member of the Royal Society of Printers and Engravers.

Sashi-netsuke by Jack Coutu

In this selection you will see sashi-netsuke by Jack Coutu, which are long thin netsuke, usually carved from the tusk of a wild boar, and you will be able to appreciate the art of the artist and engraver, who created elegant miniatures with animals and insects, on such unusual material.