Richard Wawro
Encyclopedia
Richard Wawro was a Scottish artist notable for his landscapes
in wax oil crayon
. He was an autistic savant.
. He did not learn to speak before the age of 11 and required eye surgery to remove cataract
s, which left him with sufficiently poor eyesight to be classed as legally blind.
As a toddler, Wawro began to draw on a chalkboard. In the local children's centre at the age of six he began to use crayons, and his talent was recognised soon after. Professor Marian Bohusz-Szyszko of the Polish School of Art, London, said he was "thunderstruck" at Wawro's drawings, describing them as "an incredible phenomenon rendered with the precision of a mechanic and the vision of a poet".
He had his first exhibition in Edinburgh when he was 17.
In the early 1970s one of his exhibitions was opened by Margaret Thatcher
, then Education Minister, who bought several of his pictures, as did John Paul II
.
He got his father's approval for each picture until his father died in 2002. Overall he sold more than 1,000 pictures in around 100 exhibitions.
His original art was first introduced in the United States in 1977 at a National Council of Teachers of English conference on Creativity for the Gifted and Talented in New York City.
In 1983 his life and work were the subject of an international, award-winning documentary film, With Eyes Wide Open, by the autism expert Laurence A.Becker, Ph.D. who also produced a video profile of him, A Real Rainman.
Wawro died of lung cancer in 2006.
, specialising in landscapes and seascapes that were acclaimed for their highly detailed and dramatic images of intense depth and colour. He used no models, but drew from images seen only once, such as in books or on television; his phenomenal memory enabled him to recall where he drew each picture and to date it precisely in his mind. Although possessing perfect recall, he often added his own touches to the images. He was particularly inspired by light, and the tones he used to capture light and shadows are considered masterly.
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
in wax oil crayon
Oil pastel
Oil pastel is a painting and drawing medium with characteristics similar to pastels and wax crayons. Unlike "soft" or "French" pastel sticks, which are made with a gum or methyl cellulose binder, oil pastels consist of pigment mixed with a non-drying oil and wax binder...
. He was an autistic savant.
Life
Wawro was the son of Tadeusz and Olive Wawro; his father was a Polish military officer and civil engineer who had settled as a librarian in Fife, and his mother a Scottish schoolteacher. He was diagnosed as "moderately to severely retarded" at the age of three, a condition later recognised as autismAutism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
. He did not learn to speak before the age of 11 and required eye surgery to remove cataract
Cataract
A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light...
s, which left him with sufficiently poor eyesight to be classed as legally blind.
As a toddler, Wawro began to draw on a chalkboard. In the local children's centre at the age of six he began to use crayons, and his talent was recognised soon after. Professor Marian Bohusz-Szyszko of the Polish School of Art, London, said he was "thunderstruck" at Wawro's drawings, describing them as "an incredible phenomenon rendered with the precision of a mechanic and the vision of a poet".
He had his first exhibition in Edinburgh when he was 17.
In the early 1970s one of his exhibitions was opened by Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, then Education Minister, who bought several of his pictures, as did John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
He got his father's approval for each picture until his father died in 2002. Overall he sold more than 1,000 pictures in around 100 exhibitions.
His original art was first introduced in the United States in 1977 at a National Council of Teachers of English conference on Creativity for the Gifted and Talented in New York City.
In 1983 his life and work were the subject of an international, award-winning documentary film, With Eyes Wide Open, by the autism expert Laurence A.Becker, Ph.D. who also produced a video profile of him, A Real Rainman.
Wawro died of lung cancer in 2006.
Works
Wawro worked in the unusual medium of wax oil crayonOil pastel
Oil pastel is a painting and drawing medium with characteristics similar to pastels and wax crayons. Unlike "soft" or "French" pastel sticks, which are made with a gum or methyl cellulose binder, oil pastels consist of pigment mixed with a non-drying oil and wax binder...
, specialising in landscapes and seascapes that were acclaimed for their highly detailed and dramatic images of intense depth and colour. He used no models, but drew from images seen only once, such as in books or on television; his phenomenal memory enabled him to recall where he drew each picture and to date it precisely in his mind. Although possessing perfect recall, he often added his own touches to the images. He was particularly inspired by light, and the tones he used to capture light and shadows are considered masterly.
External links
- Wawro's website
- Biography
- Gallery Images of a selection of his paintings