Peter Edwards (artist)

Peter Douglas Edwards, born 20 November 1955, British painter. Winner of the 1994 BP Portrait Award.

Early life and career

Peter Edwards was born in Chirk, North Wales, in the historic county of Denbighshire, which then became part of Clwyd, and most recently became attached to Wrexham County Borough, but he was brought up over the border in Ellesmere, Shropshire, in London House, a large Victorian building, the premises of a TV and electrical business, County TV Service Ltd, started by his father in 1954 in the centre of the market town. An ancestor was the map maker and engraver Robert Baugh (1748–1832) of Llanymynech.

He attended Ellesmere Primary School 1960 - 1965, Bellan House School 1965 - 1967. and Oswestry School 1967 - 1974. After gaining A levels in Art and English, he attended an art foundation course at Shrewsbury School of Art, (part of what is now known as Shrewsbury College) 1974 - 1975. followed by a degree in Fine Art at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, Cheltenham, Pittville Campus, 1975 - 1978. In his last term he brought out a small booklet of poems Brain's Acreage published by his complementary studies tutor Nick Wayte, and Nick's partner Gill Woodward. In October 1978 after an unsuccessful interview at the Royal College of Art, he set up a studio in the now unoccupied top floor of London House. He began to paint full time, (while helping when needed, delivering, and occasionally behind the counter, of the family business below) mainly self portraits, keeping in touch with the art scene by visiting friends who were still at art school in London, such as Tod Ramos (Royal Academy of Arts Schools) and Alistair Lockhart (St Martins).

In 1980 he exhibited a small self portrait in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The painting was bought by the eminent collector, Sir Brinsley Ford. With the money from this sale he stayed for a week in the Cromwell Road, Belfast digs of his Cheltenham art-school friend (Malcolm) James Reilly. He attended Reilly's lectures on the Post' Graduate' course at Belfast Art School by day, and the bohemian and punk underworld by night. He particularly remembers talking with Rita Donagh who was there as a visiting lecturer.

Through the 1980s he continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy and began exhibiting in the National Portrait Gallery's Portrait Award. A career breakthrough was the purchase in 1986 of The Liverpool Poets by the NPG. His continuing involvement with the gallery and Robin Gibson then 20th Century Curator (later Chief Curator) led to a major one-man exhibition and tour in the Gallery in April 1990 "Contemporary Poets", which consisted of 17 large canvasses of 20 Britsh Isles poets, alongside a poem from each poet, numerous studies, and a series of Saturday morning readings from Seamus Heaney, Douglas Dunn, Charles Causley, Wendy Cope, and Craig Raine.

On 30 July 1991, Bobby Moore unveiled Edwards' portrait of Bobby Charlton in the National Portrait Gallery, Sponsored by British Gas plc, it marked the 25th anniversary of England winning the FIFA World Cup.

In 1993 he exhibited in The Portrait Now show with, amongst others, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Nam June Paik, and Tony Bevan. In 1994 he won the BP Portrait Award with Portrait of an Artist's Model, which was cited in the last paragraph of Richard Ormond's obituary of Marguerite Kelsey, who was the subject of the portrait. She had been the been the model of choice, in the inter-war years, for many leading artists, including Meredith Frampton. This award led to his commission to paint Kazuo Ishiguro, which was unveiled the following summer in the National Portrait Gallery by Ismail Merchant.

Selected public collections

• National Portrait Gallery, London. 6 works. The portraits are of: Adrian Henri, Roger McGough, Brian Patten, (triple portrait known as) The Liverpool Poets. Seamus Heaney, John Heath-Stubbs, Willy Russell, Sir Bobby Charlton, and Kazuo Ishiguro.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York of the British Poet Peter Reading, and Armenian poet Vahé Oshagan.
• National Museum Wales, painting of Tyrone O'Sullivan.
• Ulster Museum, Belfast, painting of Michael Longley.
• National Library of Wales, 6 works
• St Andrews University, portrait of Principle Struther Arnott
• Birmingham University
• Warwick University, painting of Sir Christopher Zeeman
• Ferens Gallery, Hull
• National Museums Liverpool portrait of Willy Russell
• Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead
• Moma Wales, Sir Kyffyn Williams, Ruth Lambert
• St Georges hospital, London
• Sheffield University Portraits of Sir Peter Middleton and Sir Harry Kroto
• Manchester University portraits of Sir Martin Harris and Alan Gilbert

Bibliography

• The National Portrait Gallery Collection, 1988. Page 203 colour illustration The Liverpool Poets Oil on canvass, 175.9 x 237.5 By Peter Edwards, 1985 (5853) ISBN 0 904017 89 3
• Contemporary Poets, Portraits By Peter Edwards, A National portrait Gallery Exhibiion, 1990. Foreword by Robin Gibson Curator 20th Century Collection. ISBN 085514031 4
• The Portrait Now, National Portrait Gallery, 1993. Page 52. ISBN 1 855 14 098 5
• drawings paintings and sculptures, the catalogue. Published by the museums and galleries of northern ireland. ISBN 0 900761 38 5. Page 247 Portrait of Michael Longley b.1939 (1989–1990) U4825
• Royal Academy Illustrated 1996, A Souvenir of the 228th Summer Exhibition. Page 10, Peter Edwards Self Portrait Oil 7 x 5 ins.

External links

• National Portrait Gallery - Peter Edwards
• Ulster Museum
• National Museum Wales
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Artist's website.
• Edwards as sitter in The National Portrait Gallery