Adam Birtwistle
Encyclopedia
Adam Birtwistle is a British artist whose idiosyncratic portraits of composers and musicians are represented in the National Portrait Gallery.
in 1959 and is the son of the composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle
. After attending schools in Britain and the US, he studied sculpture for four years at Chelsea School of Art
and followed this with two years at the Arch Bronze Foundry, working with Ben Kneale. In 1985 he took part in designing masks and costumes for one of his father’s music theatre pieces at Dartington Summer School of Music
.
In 1986 he attended printing classes at the Royal Academy
while preparing his first one-man show in London with Piano Nobile Fine Paintings. Since then he has regularly held solo shows at Piano Nobile and completed numerous commissions.
(Declan McManus). Other musicians, conductors and composers to feature in his paintings include the pianist Alfred Brendel
, and the composers Hans Werner Henze
and Sir Michael Tippett
.
In 1999, he was commissioned by Curtis Price to paint a portrait of his father for Dukes Hall at the Royal Academy of Music
.
The following year, 2000, he was asked to paint portraits of six composers, whose operas were to be featured during the 2001 Glyndebourne Festival
: Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Janáček, Britten and again Adam’s father, Sir Harrison
, . He was subsequently commissioned by Glyndebourne
to paint the film and stage director, Sir Peter Hall, the artist and stage designer, David Hockney
, the opera singer Anja Silja
, as well as Sir George Christie, the then chairman of the Glyndebourne Festival, and his wife, Lady Christie.
Among others, Birtwistle has done portraits of the painters Craigie Aitchison
and Peter Blake
. Fascinated by ‘performers’ of all descriptions, his subjects vary from the astronomer, Sir Patrick Moore
, and Winston Churchill
, through to the actor Jeremy Irons and Dame Marjorie Scardino
.
Dr Charles Saumarez Smith
, secretary and chief executive of the Royal Academy and formerly director of the National Gallery, regarded Adam Birtwistle as “one of the best of his generation” (*), while art critic Godfrey Barker called him “…one of our most distinguished portrait painters in what is, presently, a Golden Age of Portraiture in Britain.”
Object of the Week Daily Telegraph 20 May 2002... Glyndebourne
, the celebrated Sussex
opera house, unveiled six paintings of people closely associated with it. They were all by Adam Birtwistle.
Biography
Adam Birtwistle was born in EtonEton, Berkshire
Eton is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The parish also includes the large village of Eton Wick, 2 miles west of the town, and has a population of 4,980. Eton was in Buckinghamshire until...
in 1959 and is the son of the composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...
. After attending schools in Britain and the US, he studied sculpture for four years at Chelsea School of Art
Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design, the erstwhile Chelsea School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation...
and followed this with two years at the Arch Bronze Foundry, working with Ben Kneale. In 1985 he took part in designing masks and costumes for one of his father’s music theatre pieces at Dartington Summer School of Music
Dartington Hall
The Dartington Hall Trust, near Totnes, Devon, United Kingdom is a charity specialising in the arts, social justice and sustainability.The Trust currently runs 16 charitable programmes, including The Dartington International Summer School and Schumacher Environmental College...
.
In 1986 he attended printing classes at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
while preparing his first one-man show in London with Piano Nobile Fine Paintings. Since then he has regularly held solo shows at Piano Nobile and completed numerous commissions.
Commissions and Paintings
Two paintings by Birtwistle have been purchased by the National Portrait Gallery in London : a portrait of his father, Sir Harrison, and one of Elvis CostelloElvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
(Declan McManus). Other musicians, conductors and composers to feature in his paintings include the pianist Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian pianist, born in Czechoslovakia and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is also a poet and author.-Biography:...
, and the composers Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
and Sir Michael Tippett
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
.
In 1999, he was commissioned by Curtis Price to paint a portrait of his father for Dukes Hall at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
.
The following year, 2000, he was asked to paint portraits of six composers, whose operas were to be featured during the 2001 Glyndebourne Festival
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
: Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Janáček, Britten and again Adam’s father, Sir Harrison
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...
, . He was subsequently commissioned by Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
to paint the film and stage director, Sir Peter Hall, the artist and stage designer, David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
, the opera singer Anja Silja
Anja Silja
Anja Silja Regina Langwagen, , born April 17, 1940, in Berlin, is a German soprano who is known for her great abilities as a singing-actress and for the vastness of her repertoire....
, as well as Sir George Christie, the then chairman of the Glyndebourne Festival, and his wife, Lady Christie.
Among others, Birtwistle has done portraits of the painters Craigie Aitchison
Craigie Aitchison (painter)
Craigie Aitchison, RA, CBE was a Scottish painter. He was known for his many paintings of the Crucifixion, one of which hangs behind the altar in the chapter house of Liverpool Cathedral.-Education:...
and Peter Blake
Peter Blake (artist)
Sir Peter Thomas Blake, KBE, CBE, RDI, RA is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He lives in Chiswick, London, UK.-Career:...
. Fascinated by ‘performers’ of all descriptions, his subjects vary from the astronomer, Sir Patrick Moore
Patrick Moore
Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...
, and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, through to the actor Jeremy Irons and Dame Marjorie Scardino
Marjorie Scardino
Dame Marjorie Morris Scardino, DBE, FRSA is the CEO of Pearson PLC. She became the first female Chief Executive of a FTSE 100 company when she was appointed CEO of Pearson in 1997...
.
Critical Comments
Lord Gowrie, chairman of the Art Council (1994/1998), described Adam Birtwistle as “an artist who brings off something uncommon and difficult. He is a serious painter with wit. This quality shows in both composition and brushwork.”Dr Charles Saumarez Smith
Charles Saumarez Smith
Charles Robert Saumarez Smith CBE is a British art historian. He was Director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1994 to 2002. From 2002 to 2007 he was director of the National Gallery and is currently Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts...
, secretary and chief executive of the Royal Academy and formerly director of the National Gallery, regarded Adam Birtwistle as “one of the best of his generation” (*), while art critic Godfrey Barker called him “…one of our most distinguished portrait painters in what is, presently, a Golden Age of Portraiture in Britain.”
Object of the Week Daily Telegraph 20 May 2002... Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
, the celebrated Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
opera house, unveiled six paintings of people closely associated with it. They were all by Adam Birtwistle.