Charles Church (born 17 December 1970) is a British painter best known for his portraits of racehorses.

Biography

Born in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, Church trained at Newcastle College and the Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence where he learned to paint using the sight-size portrait tradition. Because most of his work is painted to commission, it is rarely seen on public display. His one-man exhibitions at galleries in Mayfair in 2005 and 2013 were both sell outs. His commissions include many of horse racing's Grade 1 winners including

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

winners

Hurricane Run Hurricane Run (2002–2016) was a world champion Irish-bred thoroughbred racehorse. He was the second French-trained horse, after his sire Montjeu, to win both the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He w ...

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

and

Zarkava Zarkava (foaled 31 March 2005 in Ireland) is an undefeated French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2008 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Background Bred and raced by HH Aga Khan IV, Zarkava was sired by Group II winner Zamindar who also sired the ...

, World Champion

Goldikova Goldikova (15 March 2005 – 5 January 2021) was a champion French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Mile three times and was the 2010 European Horse of the Year. She was based in France, although she also raced in the United St ...

, US Champion Mineshaft, Australian Champion Sire

Fastnet Rock Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current l ...

, 2011 Melbourne Cup Winner Dunaden

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

Winner

Mr Frisk Mr Frisk (c.1979 – September 2000) was a Thoroughbred racehorse, famous for his victory in the 1990 Grand National. He completed the course in record time of 8 minutes and 47.80 seconds, ridden by Marcus Armytage; this still stands, even ...

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ( ...

Winners Synchronised and

Master Oats Master Oats (14 May 1986 – 21 May 2012) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist steeplechaser, he ran twenty-one time and won ten races. He campaigned mainly at distances in excess of three miles and was particularly effective ...

, and

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

winners Pour Moi and

Authorized Authorization or authorisation (see spelling differences) is the function of specifying access rights/privileges to resources, which is related to general information security and computer security, and to access control in particular. More for ...

. Writing in the catalogue of his 2013 show "Further Afield",

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

chairman Henry Wyndham says: "In my opinion, Church's work carries many of the hallmarks of some of the most renowned British painters of the early 20th century." Church lives and works in Dorset.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Church, Charles British painters British male painters Equine artists 1970 births Living people