Neil Shawcross
Encyclopedia
Neil Shawcross is an artist
born in Kearsley
, Lancashire
, England
, and resident in Northern Ireland
since 1962. Primarily a portrait
painter
, his subjects have included novelist Francis Stuart
(for the Ulster Museum
), former Lord Mayor of Belfast
David Cook
(for Belfast City Council
), footballer Derek Dougan
and fellow artists Colin Middleton
and Terry Frost
. He also paints the figure and still life, taking a self-consciously child-like approach to composition and colour. His work also includes printmaking
, and he has designed stained glass
for the Ulster Museum
and St. Colman's Church, Lambeg, County Antrim
. He lives in Hillsborough, County Down
.
College of Art from 1955 to 1958, and Lancaster
College of Art from 1958 to 1960, before moving to Belfast
in 1962 to take up a part-time lecturer's post at the Belfast College of Art
, becoming full-time in 1968. He continued to lecture there until his retirement in 2004. He has also lectured at Pennsylvania State University
in the United States
.
Neil is a Patron of the charity YouthAction Northern Ireland.
of Art in 1975, and was made a full Academician in 1977. He won the Academy's Conor Award in 1975, its Gold Medal in 1978, 1982, 1987, 1994, 1997 and 2001, and its James Adam Prize in 1998.
, Manchester
, Dublin and Belfast, and internationally in Hong Kong
and the United States, and his work is found in many private and corporate collections.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
born in Kearsley
Kearsley
Kearsley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it lies about 7½ miles northwest of Manchester,5.5 miles south-west of Bury, and about 3¾ miles south of Bolton.It is bounded on the west by Walkden, the east by...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and resident in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
since 1962. Primarily a portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, his subjects have included novelist Francis Stuart
Francis Stuart
Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart was an Irish writer. His novels have been described as having a thrusting modernist iconoclasm. Awarded the highest artistic accolade in Ireland before his death in 2000, his unwillingness to take a clear moral stance with regard to his years spent in Nazi...
(for the Ulster Museum
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
), former Lord Mayor of Belfast
Lord Mayor of Belfast
The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairman of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 51 councillors.The Lord Mayor is Niall Ó Donnghaile of Sinn Féin, while the Deputy Lord Mayor is Ruth Patterson of the Democratic Unionist Party, who were elected in May 2011.The...
David Cook
David Cook (politician)
David Cook is a former politician in Northern Ireland.Cook works as a solicitor, eventually becoming a senior partner at Sheldon and Stewart Solicitors....
(for Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...
), footballer Derek Dougan
Derek Dougan
Alexander Derek Dougan was a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played for Wolverhampton Wanderers....
and fellow artists Colin Middleton
Colin Middleton
Colin Middleton MBE was an Irish artist and surrealist.Middleton was born in 1910 in Belfast. He trained at Belfast College of Art, he was heavily influenced by the work of Vincent van Gogh. He regarded himself as the only surrealist working in Ireland in the 1930s.His work first appeared at the...
and Terry Frost
Terry Frost
Sir Terry Frost RA was an English artist noted for his abstracts....
. He also paints the figure and still life, taking a self-consciously child-like approach to composition and colour. His work also includes printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
, and he has designed stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
for the Ulster Museum
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
and St. Colman's Church, Lambeg, County Antrim
Lambeg, County Antrim
Lambeg is an urban townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Located between Belfast and Lisburn, it was once a small rural village, but is now within the Greater Belfast conurbation. Lambeg is also an electoral ward of Lisburn Council...
. He lives in Hillsborough, County Down
Hillsborough, County Down
Hillsborough is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated from the city of Belfast. It is within the Lisburn City Council area....
.
Education and early life
Shawcross studied at BoltonBolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
College of Art from 1955 to 1958, and Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
College of Art from 1958 to 1960, before moving to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
in 1962 to take up a part-time lecturer's post at the Belfast College of Art
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
, becoming full-time in 1968. He continued to lecture there until his retirement in 2004. He has also lectured at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Neil is a Patron of the charity YouthAction Northern Ireland.
Awards
He was elected an Associate of the Royal Ulster AcademyRoyal Ulster Academy
The Royal Ulster Academy has existed in one form or another since 1879. It started life then, as The Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club...
of Art in 1975, and was made a full Academician in 1977. He won the Academy's Conor Award in 1975, its Gold Medal in 1978, 1982, 1987, 1994, 1997 and 2001, and its James Adam Prize in 1998.
Exhibitions
He has exhibited nationally, with one-man shows in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Dublin and Belfast, and internationally in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and the United States, and his work is found in many private and corporate collections.
Works
- Table Top Still Life (1990), Mixed media, Arts Council of Northern IrelandArts Council of Northern IrelandThe Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland....
collection