Bryan Charnley (20 September 1949 – 19 July 1991) was a British artist who had paranoid schizophrenia, and explored its effects in his work. He committed suicide in July 1991.

Early life and flower paintings

Bryan John Charnley was born on 20 September 1949 in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

. With his twin brother he grew up in London,

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

, in Kent, Cranfield, where his father worked as a Senior Lecturer, and finally in Bromham near Bedford. In the summer of 1968, aged 18, he had a nervous breakdown but was able to study at Leicester School of Art later that year. In 1969, Charnley gained a place at the Central School of Art and Design in

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

, London, but was unable to complete the course due to another breakdown that was later diagnosed as acute schizophrenia. From 1971 until 1977 he lived at home with his parents between periods of hospitalisation and treatment including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In 1978 he moved to

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

and began painting. Charnley's work during this period drew heavily on

photo-realism Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another Medium (arts), medium. Although ...

, then enjoying popularity in America, rather than the

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

that was fashionable in the London art scene, and he produced many large-scale paintings of flowers. However, Charnley was also interested in the work of fellow British artist Bridget Riley, in whose work he saw a 'cool discipline' combined with a strong emotional charge.

Relationship with Pam Jones

In 1982, Charnley painted a double portrait of himself and his partner Pam, in what has been called "the high point of Charnley's photorealistic early period". The composition and treatment demonstrates Charnley's interest in the work of

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

. Five years later, Pam, who also experienced mental illness, attempted suicide by jumping out of a window. Though she survived, her spine was badly damaged. Charnley's trauma is explored in his painting of the same year, ''Leaving by the Window''.

Stylistic development

Charnley had been exploring his inner life through painting since at least 1982, particularly addressing the experience of schizophrenia. Writing in 1988, Charnley said he had "found imselfon an interior journey in which landscape and subject were subsumed to inner vision". However, from 1987 onwards, he increasingly drew on

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

's theories about dreams, using elaborate symbolism to convey his mental state. In 1984 four of his paintings were purchased by the

Bethlem Royal Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably '' Bedlam'', a 1946 film with ...

for their permanent collection. During this period, Charnley also studied the work of other artists held in the Bethlem collection, notably

William Kurelek William Kurelek, (March 3, 1927 – November 3, 1977) was a Canadian artist and writer. His work was influenced by his childhood on the prairies, his Ukrainian-Canadian roots, his struggles with mental illness, and his conversion to Roman Catho ...

and

Louis Wain Louis William Wain (5 August 1860 – 4 July 1939) was an English artist best known for his drawings, which consistently featured anthropomorphized large-eyed cats and kittens. Later in life, he was confined to mental institutions and struggle ...

, whose work "seemed to me to have a power to move far beyond that expected of the patient as an artist. Here I saw art stripped of all esoteric and conceptual pretensions". Charnley's elaborately symbolist work from this period includes ''To the Farm'' (1987), ''Grey Self-Portrait'' (1986), and ''Brooch Schizophrene'' (1987), paintings that have also since been acquired by Bethlem Museum of the Mind. Charnley had a solo exhibition at the Dryden Street Gallery,

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in London 1989, and exhibited two paintings at the Visions exhibition at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

in 1990, curated by Aiden Shingler. However, he still struggled to make a living from his art.

Final works and death

Charnley was frustrated by his apparent lack of success in the art market, and what recognition he received was outweighed by the day to day problems of his illness and the heavy medication he was prescribed to counter it. These factors contributed to his decision early in 1991 to paint a series of self portraits chronicling his experience as he reduced his medication. The journalist and CEO of SANE,

Marjorie Wallace Marjorie Wallace (born January 23, 1954) is an American actress, television host, model and beauty queen. In 1973, she made history as the first woman from the United States to be crowned Miss World, but just 104 days later, pageant officials ...

, encouraged Charnley to keep a diary of his progress. Charnley made the diary an integral part of the portraits using the text to explain the imagery he was using and to describe his existential state. The Self Portrait Series consists of seventeen paintings. There is debate as to whether the last painting is incomplete due to the presence of a date in the lower right corner. Marjorie Wallace's article on Charnley's Self Portraits was published in the ''Telegraph Magazine'' in December 1991. He may have been partially influenced by Louis Wain's ''Kaleidoscope Cats'', held in the collection of Bethlem Museum of the Mind, which are (incorrectly) thought to chart the progress of Wain's mental disorder. In July 1991, he killed himself.

Exhibitions

* ''Bryan Charnley'', Dryden Street Gallery, London, 1989 * ''Visions'', Royal College of Art, London 1990 (group exhibition) * ''Crossing the Border'', Harris Art Gallery and Museum, Preston 1995 * ''Bryan Charnley: Self Portrait Face to Face with Schizophrenia'',

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

1995 * ''Bryan Charnley The Art of Schizophrenia'',

Bethlem Museum of the Mind Bethlem Museum of the Mind is a museum focusing on the history of Bethlem Royal Hospital, its programme of care, and its patients. Opened in 2015, the museum is housed in an Art Deco building shared with the Bethlem Gallery, which hosts exhibiti ...

, 2015Kirsten Tambling, 'Bryan Charnley: the Art of Schizophrenia' (Beckenham: Bethlem Museum of the Mind, exh. cat., 2015)

Gallery

File:Clown In a Landscape.jpg, ''Clown in a Landscape'', 1983; oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm File:Jealousy by Bryan Charnley.jpg, ''Jealousy''; oil on canvas, 76 x 101 cm