Anthony Whishaw


Anthony Whishaw RA is an English artist and member of the Royal Academy. Whishaw claims no association with any particular art movement, stating instead that "each painting and work on paper makes its own separate demands". He is also a member of The London Group.

Biography

1930 Anthony Popham Law Whishaw is born on 22 May in St Mary’s, Paddington, in London. The family later moves to Brazil, where Whishaw’s father works.
1939 Returns from Brazil with his mother and attends Brunswick School in Sussex. The school is later evacuated to Cornwall during the Second World War.
1944–48 Attends Tonbridge School in Kent.
1948 Awarded Judd Scholarship from Tonbridge School.
1948–52 Studies at Chelsea School of Art, London.
1951 Makes his first visit to Spain, spending a fortnight in Ibiza.
1952–55 Studies at the Royal College of Art, London.
1955–56 Royal College of Art Drawing Prize.
1955–56 Receives an Abbey Minor Scholarship, an RCA Travelling Scholarship and a Spanish Government Scholarship, which he uses to travel to Spain with Jean Gibson. Here he visits the Prado and sees Goya’s Black Paintings for the first time. He lives in Spain for some of the next two years.
1956 His first solo exhibition is held in Spain, at Madrid’s Librería Abril.
1957 Marries Jean Gibson and buys his studio-house in Kensington.
1960 Featured in the episode ‘Private View’ of BBC TV show Monitor, following four emerging artists.
1963 Whishaw’s first daughter, Phoebe, is born.
1965 Whishaw’s second daughter, Zoë, is born.
1973 Perth International Drawing Biennial Prize.
1973 Bayer International Painting Prize.
1975 South East Arts Association Painting Prize.
1977 Greater London Arts Association Grant.
1978 Arts Council of Great Britain Award.
1979 Elected to the London Group. His work is included in their exhibitions each year.
1980 Elected a Royal Academician. He exhibits annually at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.
1981 Begins working in an Acme studio in Bethnal Green. His routine involves driving to Bethnal Green and working there from 6 am until midday, before returning to Kensington, where he paints in the afternoon.
1981 Greater London Council Painting Prize.
1982 John Moores Minor Painting Prize.
1981–82 Lorne Scholarship.
1986 Joint winner Hunting Group National Art Competition.
1987–88 ‘Reflections After Las Meninas’ at the Royal Academy Diploma Galleries, London, touring to Hatton Gallery, Newcastle; Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre; John Hansard Gallery, Southampton; Space, Exeter.
1989 Galerie in Faust, Hamburg, and Galerie in Faust, Shanghai, China.
1991 Whishaw’s wife dies after a long illness.
1992 Elected to the Royal West of England Academy.
1994 Featured on Channel 4 News, in a feature about his 1989 Galerie in Faust exhibition.
1996 Korn Ferry Carre Oban International Picture of the Year.
1999 Featured Artist at Eigse Carlow Arts Festival.
2003 Elected Honorary RWA.
2006 Interview with Brian Sewell on ‘Divine Art’, BBC Radio 4.
2010 A series of solo and group exhibitions are held to mark Whishaw’s 80th birthday, including at Kings Place Gallery; the Fine Art Society; and Acme Studios, Bethnal Green.
2016 'Anthony Whishaw' written by Richard Davey, published by the Royal Academy Publications
2020 'Anthony Whishaw RA: Works on Paper' written by Richard Davey, published by Beam Editions
2020 A series of solo exhibitions are held to mark Whishaw's 90th birthday, including at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, Browse and Darby Gallery

Exhibitions

Solo and small-group exhibitions
2020 Art in Focus, 'Illusions and Horizons', St Mary's Hopsital, London, The Imperial Health Charity Touring Exhibition
2020 'With Spain in Mind', The Royal Academy of Arts, London
2020 'Works on Paper', Browse & Darby, London
2018 'Experiences of Nature', Canwood Gallery, Herefordshire
2017 'Natural Forces', Mishcon de Reya, London
2016 ‘Woodland Encounters’, Art Space Gallery, London
2016 ‘Anthony Whishaw RA: Paintings from the Mid-1960s – 2015’, Browse & Darby, London
2011 ‘Eight Large Paintings’, The Gallery in Cork Street, London, and The Richmond Hill Gallery, Richmond
2010 ‘Anthony Whishaw RA at 80’, Acme Studios, London
2010 ‘Images on the Edge of Perception’, Kings Place Gallery, London
2010 ‘Dancers: Paintings From The Early 1960s’, The Fine Art Society, London
2009 ‘New Large Works’, Victor Pasmore Gallery, Harrow School
2007 ‘Downstream’, Osborne Samuel, London
2007 ‘Arts Unwrapped’, Acme Studios, London
2006 The Dover Arts Club Show, London
2005 Open Studio, ACME Studios, Bethnal Green, London
2005 ‘Works on Paper’, The Walk Gallery, London
2002 ‘Maverick Images: Shaped, Triptych and Rectangular’, Art First, London
2000 ‘Pueblo Landscapes’, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2000 ‘Trees’, Stephen Lacey Gallery, London
1999 ‘Some Small Works: Maverick Shaped and Chaotic’, Art First, London
1997 ‘Images of Ideas, with Memory in Mind’, Art First, London
1994–95 ‘On Memory and Reflection’, The Barbican Centre, London, touring to Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter; The Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayr; Huddersfield Art Gallery; R.H.A Gallagher Gallery, Dublin; Hatton Art Gallery, Newcastle; Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield; Newport and Bolton Museums
1994 ‘Pueblo Landscapes’, Art Space Gallery, London
1993 ‘Works on Paper’, Art Space Gallery, London
1993 ‘Painting and Works on Paper 1986-1993’, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
1992 ‘On the Edge of Representation’, Art Space Gallery, London
1991 Blason Gallery, London
1989 Galerie in Faust, Hamburg, touring to Galerie in Faust, Shanghai, China
1987–8 ‘Reflections After Las Meninas’, Royal Academy of Arts, Diploma Gallery, London; Hatton Gallery, Newcastle; Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre; Hansard Gallery, Southampton; Exeter
1986 ‘Large Landscapes’, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1983 ‘Work on Paper’, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1982–83 ‘From Landscape’, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, touring to Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, and Bede Gallery, Jarrow
1982 Open Studio, ACME Studios, Bethnal Green, London
1981 Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1980 Wapping Open Studios, London
1979 Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic Art Gallery
1979 New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham
1978 Oxford Gallery, Oxford
1978 Acme Gallery, London
1974 Hoya Gallery, London
1973 Folkestone Art Centre
1972 New Art Centre, London
1971 ICA, London
1960 Roland Browse and Delbanco, London
1956 Librería Abril, Madrid
1953 Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Annual Group Exhibitions
1993 – present Royal West of England Academy Autumn Exhibition
1980 – present Acme Open Studios
1980 – present Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
1979 – present The London Group
Recent Group exhibitions
2019 'Nicole Farhi And Friends', Kino-Teatr Gallery, Sussex
2019 'Nicole Farhi And Friends', Canwood Gallery, Herefordshire
2017 'Winter Journey', Art Space Gallery, London
2015 ‘Combines’, The Cello Factory, London
2015 ‘The Bright Field’, The Old Big School Gallery, Tonbridge School, Tonbridge
2015 ‘The Royal Academy at Wolfson College’, Cambridge
2014–15 ‘Arboretum’, The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2014 ‘Four Contemporary Artists’, Osborne Samuel, London
2012 ‘RA Now’, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2011 ‘The RA’s Come to Richmond’, The Richmond Hill Gallery, Richmond
2011 ‘Celebrating 25 Years of the Art Space Gallery’, Art Space Gallery, London
2011 ‘Revelations’, The Richmond Hill Gallery, Richmond
2011 ‘The Invisible Line’, 12 Painters from The London Group, London
2010 ‘Images of St Paul’s in the 21st Century’, St Paul’s Cathedral, London
2010 ‘Near and Far’, The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2010 ‘The RA’s Come To Richmond’, The Richmond Hill Gallery, Richmond
2010 30 years of Eigse Art, Visual Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow, Ireland
2009 ‘The ING The Discerning Eye Exhibition’, The Mall Galleries, London
2009 Open Exhibition 2009, The London Group, Menier Gallery, London
2008 Summer Show, The Richmond Hill Gallery, Richmond
2008 Spring Show, The Richmond Hill Gallery, Richmond
2007–08 Winter Show, The Richmond Hill Gallery, Richmond
2007 Bridge Art Fair, The Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London
2006 Royal Academicians in Dubai

Collections

A.T. Kearney
Albert E.Sharp
Alliance and Leicester
Anderson Consulting
Arts Council of Great Britain
Ashikaga Bank of Tokyo
Baring Asset Management
Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Bolton Art Gallery
Chantrey Bequest
Christchurch, Kensington
City Art Galleries, Sheffield
Crown Commodities
Deutsche Morgan Grenfell
European Parliament, Strasbourg
Government Art Collection
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
Huddersfield Museum and Art Gallery
Ladbrokes
Leamington Spa Museum and Art Gallery
Linklaters and Paines
Museo de Arte Moderno, Murcia, Spain
Museo de Bahia, Brazil
Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
National Gallery of Wales
National Westminster Bank
Oxford University, St Anne’s College
Power Art Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Rosehaven PLC
Royal Academy of Arts, London
Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Seattle Museum of Art, USA
Sharjah Museum
Shell-BP
Stanhope PLC
Tetrapak UK
The Bank of Boston, USA
The Financial Times
The Herbert Gallery and Art Gallery, Coventry
The Long Term Credit Bank of Japan
The Tate Gallery, London
Tower Hamlets Art Association
Western Australia Gallery
Zeneca

Memberships

In 1989 Whishaw was elected to The London Group. In 1980 he was elected Associate of the Royal Academy, and in 1989 he became a Royal Academician. He was also elected as a member of the Royal West of England Academy in 1992.