Michael Alford (artist)
Michael Robert Patrick Alford (born 15 September 1958 in Cookham, Berkshire, England) is a British figurative painter whose work includes landscapes, cityscapes, figures, portraits, nudes and murals.[1]
Biography[edit]
Alford was born in Cookham, England, and grew up in England and Germany. He attended the Dragon School and later Rugby School. His first art training came from his father, an officer in the Royal Engineers, who taught him how to draw in perspective at an early age. After a period in the Royal Marines, he attended Durham University (St John's College) where he took a degree in Spanish and Arabic.[2][3] Later he traveled extensively in South America and the Middle East, documenting his trips in a series of detailed sketchbooks. He received further art training at the Slade and Chelsea schools of art before beginning his career as a muralist and fine arts painter, exhibiting widely in the UK, the US and Europe. Michael Alford lives in London but travels widely seeking new subjects.
Career[edit]
Alford exhibits work in group and solo shows in galleries including Wimbledon Fine Arts;[4] Panter and Hall Galleries;[5] Chloe Gallery, San Francisco,[6] Mall Galleries with the Royal Institute of Oil Painters[7] and Duncan Campbell Fine Art.[8]
Alford has been an official War Artist to the British Military on three occasions. In 2010 he accompanied the Grenadier Guards to Afghanistan, where he created a series of watercolors based on his experience in the field. He donated the collection to the Colonel's Fund, the Grenadier Guards' charity for wounded Guards, their families, and the families of Guards killed in action[9] His painting, Patrol at Pan Kalay Police Station, 2016, was acquired by the National Army Museum.[10]
Alford's works are in corporate holdings including Berkeley Square Gallery; Hill & Knowlton; Sheraton Hotel, Amsterdam; Claridges; and Trust House Forte.[2]
Michael was a council member of the Chelsea Art Society from 2011 to 2017.[11] In 2017 he was a semi-finalist in Sky Arts Landscape artist of the year.[12]
He is the recipient of the ROI Stanley Grimm Prize (2016),[13] the Agnes Reeve Memorial Prize (2000) and the Primaluce International Trompe L'Oeil Festival Third Place Prize (2003).[2]
References[edit]
- ^ Artists in Britain Since 1945, Volume Artists "A", David Buckman, Sansome and Co. London, 2006
- ^ a b c David Buckman, "Alford, Michael", Artists in Britain Since 1945, Vol. "Artists A", page 27. Goldmark Gallery Archived 2013-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Results of Final Examinations held in June 1980". Durham University Gazette. 25: 38. 1981. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ Wimbledon Fine Art Artist Page
- ^ Panter and Hall
- ^ Chloe Gallery Artists Page
- ^ ROI
- ^ Michael Alford: War Paint, and interview with Michael Alford by Tony Kane, Wimbledon Time & Leisure Magazine, 26 December 2012
- ^ The Colonel's Fund website
- ^ National Army Museum Collections
- ^ Chelsea Art Society Webpage
- ^ Landscape Artist of the Year Webpage.
- ^ "ROI Prizewinners". Royal Institute of Oil Painters.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- CV hosted by Panter and Hall
- Michael Alford: War Paint
- Michael Alford appears in Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2017
- When the Writing's On the Wall, article on mural painting in The Guardian by Tim Hitchcock
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
- 20th-century English painters
- English male painters
- 21st-century English painters
- 1958 births
- Living people
- Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art
- Alumni of St John's College, Durham
- People educated at The Dragon School
- People educated at Rugby School
- 20th-century English male artists
- 21st-century English male artists