 |
Andrew Festing | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andrew Festing 30 November 1941 |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Painting |
Andrew Thomas Festing MBE PPRP (born 30 November 1941) is a British portrait painter, and fellow and former president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
Andrew Festing was born on 30 November 1941, the third son of four boys of Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing and Mary Cecilia Riddell. [1] [2] He was brought up in Northumberland, and educated at Ampleforth College and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. [3] [2] He was commissioned into The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), part of The Royal Green Jackets from 1966, in 1961 where he served until 1969.[ citation needed ] In 1968 he married Virginia Fyffe, [2] and has one daughter – Charlotte – and two grandchildren.[ citation needed ]
Festing worked at Sotheby's in 1969 and was head of the British Pictures Department from 1977–1981, [2] where he became Sotheby’s chief expert for British Pictures, with specialist knowledge of portrait painting over the last 400 years.[ citation needed ] He painted many portraits whilst in the army and at Sotheby's, and took up full-time portrait painting in 1981. [2]
Festing became a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) in 1989, [4] and was President (PRP) from 2002–2008. [2] In 2008, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the arts. [2] [5] In 2010 he was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Northumbria University. [2] [6]
Notable commissions include Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family on a number of occasions; official portraits of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and the House of Lords in session; official portraits of Speakers Boothroyd and Martin; four group portraits of English cricket players in the last 40 years for Lord's; six group portraits of the staff at Holkham Hall in Norfolk.[ citation needed ] Festing has painted some 750 portraits in the last 30 years.[ citation needed ]
His portraits can be found in the Royal Collections, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery of Ireland, The Palace of Westminster and many of the major private and public collections in Britain.[ citation needed ] He exhibited annually at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.[ citation needed ]
Festing also paints landscapes, still lifes and watercolours.[ citation needed ] He has studios in central London and in Northumberland.[ citation needed ]
Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in Edwardian society, though many of his most striking paintings are self-portraits.
Sir Charles Lock Eastlake was a British painter, gallery director, collector and writer of the 19th century. After a period as keeper, he was the first director of the National Gallery.
John Raphael Smith was a British painter and mezzotinter. He was the son of Thomas Smith of Derby, the landscape painter, and father of John Rubens Smith, a painter who emigrated to the United States.
Vincenzo Camuccini was an Italian painter of Neoclassic histories and religious paintings. He was considered the premier academic painter of his time in Rome.
John Bellany was a Scottish painter.
Edward Robert Hughes was a British painter, who primarily worked in watercolours, but also produced a number of oil paintings. He was influenced by his uncle and artist, Arthur Hughes who was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and worked closely with one of the Brotherhood's founders, William Holman Hunt.
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture.
Alison Watt OBE FRSE RSA is a British painter who first came to national attention while still at college when she won the 1987 Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Charles Henry Sims was a British figurative painter known for his portraits and landscapes. He initially became renowned as a leading Edwardian painter, but after becoming psychotic following the death of his son in World War I, his work became increasingly idiosyncratic, surreal and controversial. In 1920, he was appointed Keeper, or head, of the Royal Academy Schools, a post he was eventually forced to resign in 1926. At the same time, he became estranged from his wife and children. Sims' final paintings, the Spiritual Ideas, were to some viewers his "most beautiful works," but to others highly disturbing. He died by suicide in 1928.
Vilhelm Hammershøi, often written in English Vilhelm Hammershoi, was a Danish painter. He is known for his poetic, subdued portraits and interiors.
William Bowyer RA was a British portrait and landscape painter, who worked in a traditional manner.
Solomon Joseph Solomon was a British painter, a founding member of the New English Art Club and member of the Royal Academy.
Robert Matthew Festing GCStJ OBE TD DL was an English Roman Catholic official who was the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2008 until his resignation on 28 January 2017, following a dispute with the Vatican.
Thomas Bowman Garvie was a Northumbrian artist whose portraits include Thomas Burt, Lord Percy, Lord Armstrong, George B Bainbridge, Fred B Fenwick and Sir William and Lady Grey.
Peter Kuhfeld is an English figurative painter. He was born in Cheltenham and is married to the English figurative painter Cathryn Kuhfeld, née Showan. They have two daughters who have often appeared in their paintings.
John Nicholas Walton, Baron Walton of Detchant was a British neuroscientist, academic, and life peer who sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.
Juliet Kathleen Pannett was an English portrait painter.
William Bell was an English painter who specialised in portraits. A prize-winning student at the Royal Academy of Arts, influenced by Sir Joshua Reynolds, he achieved eminence in his native area, the North East of England. His best-known works are portraits of Sir John Delaval and his family, which are in the collection of the National Trust at Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland. Bell's portrait of Robert Harrison, 1715–1802, is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Harry Morley was a British painter, etcher and engraver known for his classical and mythological compositions.
Murray McNeel Caird Urquhart, commonly known as Murray Urquhart, was a Scottish painter and book illustrator. He was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. His son, Brian Urquhart, played a significant role in the founding of the United Nations.
Others to be honoured include Andrew Festing. from Hexham, who is president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and is made an MBE for services to art.
Andrew Festing was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters. He is one of the country's most distinguished portrait painters and a fellow and former President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Other | |
