Brian Barnes (20 August 1944 – 28 November 2021) was an English artist. Brian Barnes was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2005 for services to the community in Battersea, London.

Life and work

Brian Barnes was educated at Ravensbourne from 1961 to 1966 and the Royal College of Art 1966–1969. Based in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

, London since 5 February 1967, Barnes is noted for colourful, large-scale murals in Battersea and the London area, designed in collaboration with local groups. His most famous mural is ''The Good the Bad and The Ugly'', also known as ''The Battersea Mural'', at Battersea Bridge Road, designed in 1976 and painted by a group of local people from 1976 to 1978. The 276-foot mural was demolished in 1979 by the Morgan Crucible Company. Other important murals include ''Seaside Picture'', Thessaly Road (1979), ''Nuclear Dawn'' in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

(1981) (part of the Brixton murals), the H. G. Wells mural, Market Square, Bromley (1986) ''Battersea in Perspective'', Dagnall Street (1988), and the Violette Szabo mural in Stockwell (2001). The Violette Szabo mural also commemorates the locals who gave their life in the war. This mural was listed in ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' as one of London's top ten murals. Controversy surrounded the mural in 2005, when Brian Barnes added a painting of Jean Charles de Menezes to the memorial which was removed soon after. Barnes works as a

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

, in particular dealing with local campaigns and issues, and was also involved in the long-standing campaign to preserve Battersea Power Station. He founded the Battersea Power Station Community Group in 1983, to see that the listed building is preserved and that local people are involved in the redevelopment. He died on 28 November 2021 at the age of 77.'It was a life well spent': Battersea in mourning after death 'local legend' artist whose paintings you can spot all over South London
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Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Brian 1944 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters 21st-century English male artists Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of Ravensbourne University London 20th-century English male artists