Peter Matthews (printmaker)


Peter Jeffrey Matthews is a British printmaker, former teacher at Royal College of Art and senior lecturer at Wimbledon School of Art. Educated at Ealing School of Art, Matthews went on to assist at Editions Alecto and editioned most of David Hockney's early etchings. Matthews has also exhibited his own work extensively including at the Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, and with the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, being elected a Fellow and later Council Member 1984-98. His work is held in a number of public collections in the UK and overseas, including the Victoria & Albert Museum ; British Council;the Ashmolean Museum; Albertina Museum, Vienna; Royal Library of Belgium and the Free Library, Philadelphia.

Artistic career

Employment

After graduating from Ealing School of Art, Matthews was appointed craftsman/demonstrator in the Printmaking Department at the RCA in London. He worked with many artists of that time and assisted David Hockney in editioning his early etchings 1962-1964. This included: Myself and My Heroes, Gretchen and the Snurl My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean and Kaisarion and all his Beauty. Matthews reflects on printing Hockney's Kaisarion in an interview in 2011. His name is often incorrectly spelled as Peter Mathews when being credited as the printer of Hockney's etchings. In 1966, he became a Senior Lecturer in the Printmaking Department of the Wimbledon School of Art where he taught BA and MA courses in Printmaking until 1998.

Body Of Work

Landscape has always dominated his work. Early inspiration came from the quarries of Wales and the idea of figures in an empty pared-down landscape. In 1971, he established a studio on the north coast of Scotland. There were no more figures, only the rocks, heather, rivers, cliffs and sea of Caithness and Sutherland. He used several plates for each etching and a wide colour palette a
In 1991, he moved his studio to South-West France, where the landscape is in direct contrast to Scotland. The French etchings are mainly in black and white and demonstrate his fascination with time of day and shadows. Matthews ceased etching in 1998 and has returned to painting in oils informed by the landscape of the Charente.
During his 37-year career Matthews has had his work exhibited extensively in the UK and overseas both in solo and group exhibitions and his work is held in many public collections around the world. His biography has been listed in Debrett's People of Today 1994-1998 and Who's Who of Art.

Personal life

Matthews now, after living in the Charente region of France for 11 years, resides in Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

1957-1962 Ealing School of Art, London National Diploma in Art and Design

Employment