Rodrigo Moynihan
Encyclopedia
Rodrigo Moynihan was an English painter.
, Canary Islands
, in 1910. His Anglo-Spanish family moved to London
in 1918 and then to Wisconsin
. A winter in Rome 1927–1928 inspired him to devote himself to art, and in 1928 he started studying at the Slade School of Fine Art
in London.
In the 1930s he gained a reputation as a pioneer of abstract painting in England, but became attracted by social realism
and became associated from 1937 with the Euston Road School
.
He served in the British Army 1940–1943, and was appointed an official British war artist
following injury. He was appointed ARA in 1944.
After the war, he was professor of painting at the Royal College of Art
1948–1957, and was elected RA in 1954. At this period, he was in demand for official portraits, and executed commissions of amongst others Princess Elizabeth
(1946) and Prime Minister Clement Attlee
(1947).
He changed direction from 1957, resigning from the Royal College of Art and the Royal Academy and returning to abstraction, working outside England in Europe and North America.
From 1971 onwards he was inspired to return to figurative painting in the form of large-scale studio still-lives, unordered, unarranged and apparently random. This return to figuration also drew him to move back towards portraiture – with portraits of friends leading to renewed commissions by the end of the 1970s. Notable portraits of this period include Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
(1983–1985, National Portrait Gallery, London) and Dame Peggy Ashcroft
(1984, National Portrait Gallery).
He was re-elected to the Royal Academy
, in 1979. Moynihan married artist Elinor Bellingham-Smith in 1931 (one son, John Moynihan). They divorced in the late '50s and in 1960, he married fellow-artist Anne Dunn
with whom he had a second son Daniel "Danny" Moynihan. They went to live in the south of France.
Moynihan has paintings in the collection of several British institutions including Glasgow Museums, Derby Art Gallery
and many at the Imperial War Museum
.
Biography
Moynihan was born in Santa Cruz de TenerifeSanta Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009...
, Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, in 1910. His Anglo-Spanish family moved to London
London
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...
in 1918 and then to Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. A winter in Rome 1927–1928 inspired him to devote himself to art, and in 1928 he started studying at the Slade School of Fine Art
Slade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
in London.
In the 1930s he gained a reputation as a pioneer of abstract painting in England, but became attracted by social realism
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
and became associated from 1937 with the Euston Road School
Euston Road School
The Euston Road School was a group of English painters, active in London between 1937 and 1939.William Coldstream, Victor Pasmore, Claude Rogers, Maurice Field and Graham Bell set up a School of Drawing and Painting in Euston Road in 1937; other associated artists included Lawrence Gowing, Tom...
.
He served in the British Army 1940–1943, and was appointed an official British war artist
British official war artists
British official war artists were a select group of artists who were employed on contract, or commissioned to produce specific works during the First World War, the Second World War and select military actions in the post-war period...
following injury. He was appointed ARA in 1944.
After the war, he was professor of painting at the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
1948–1957, and was elected RA in 1954. At this period, he was in demand for official portraits, and executed commissions of amongst others Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
(1946) and Prime Minister Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
(1947).
He changed direction from 1957, resigning from the Royal College of Art and the Royal Academy and returning to abstraction, working outside England in Europe and North America.
From 1971 onwards he was inspired to return to figurative painting in the form of large-scale studio still-lives, unordered, unarranged and apparently random. This return to figuration also drew him to move back towards portraiture – with portraits of friends leading to renewed commissions by the end of the 1970s. Notable portraits of this period include Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
(1983–1985, National Portrait Gallery, London) and Dame Peggy Ashcroft
Peggy Ashcroft
Dame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE was an English actress.-Early years:Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama...
(1984, National Portrait Gallery).
He was re-elected to 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...
, in 1979. Moynihan married artist Elinor Bellingham-Smith in 1931 (one son, John Moynihan). They divorced in the late '50s and in 1960, he married fellow-artist Anne Dunn
Anne Dunn
Anne Dunn is an English artist associated with the second generation of the School of London.-Background and education:...
with whom he had a second son Daniel "Danny" Moynihan. They went to live in the south of France.
Moynihan has paintings in the collection of several British institutions including Glasgow Museums, Derby Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collection includes a whole gallery displaying the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby; there is also a large...
and many at the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
.