Toni Carver (1948-2025)

We have been shocked and deeply saddened by the devastating news of the sudden loss on 14th November 2025 of Toni Carver, a very dear friend and the Proprietor and Editor of the St. Ives Times & Echo.  Toni was our go-to point of contact in St. Ives, (Cornwall) where Sven Berlin spent so many years and made his name in the art world. Championing not only Sven and his work, Toni played a vital role in promoting the St. Ives art colony, through the unique publication that was the St. Ives Times & Echo, publishing books on and by individual artists, and giving the artists of St. Ives an important platform with his no-nonsense reviews, often full of thought provoking and in-depth historical background and analysis.

Above: Always full of smiling enthusiasm, the late Toni Carver at the Sven Berlin Centenary Show

at St. Barbe Museum & Gallery in 2011.

Our friendship began almost 25 years ago, with Toni reporting on our first Sven Berlin exhibition in 2003 at St. Barbe’s in Lymington, Hampshire. He had also regularly covered Sven’s shows at the Belgrave Gallery in London and St. Ives. We were always honoured when Toni made the not insignificant journey to Lymington from Cornwall to see and report on the Sven Berlin exhibitions. After our first showing of the Shave Green paintings in 2003 he kindly wrote to us after his visit to tell us it was an ‘eye opener’ and‘…an outstanding show.’ Later in 2011 he covered Sven’s Centenary show and looking back at the photographs he was obviously having a great time. It was such a pleasure to see his enthusiasm and passion for his old friend and his enduring interest in Sven’s work. In recent months Toni was an active supporter of our project to ‘Save Sven’s Tower’ reporting back on meetings and keeping us in touch with progress. His passing makes the work on this project even more poignant and those involved determined to make it happen.

As well as his love of journalism, art and rock climbing Toni also had a great interest in folk music and travelled all over the country playing his Bodhrán drum. Our abiding memory will be of his last visit to us in July 2025 on his way to play in a group in Swanage, sitting around the table treating us to a solo demonstration of his skill. No-one quite like him.

We will sorely miss his warm and kind presence in our lives, as a friend and mentor, full of wisdom, knowledge, energy, drive and charisma.

We send our deepest sympathy to Trish and all his family and friends and share in a widely felt sense of profound loss. 

Sonia and Anthony Green