Crawfurd Adamson (born 1953) is a noted
figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract a ...
ist from
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, although he has spent much of his career in the south of England. He has exhibited widely and has paintings in major collections around the world, including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in New York, and the National Fleming Collection in London. He came to note in the 1980s and 90s, with extensive international shows including
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and Spain. His work fell out of fashion during the late 90s, as the art market took a preference to
conceptual works, rather than traditional media such as
oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
or
pastels
A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...
.
Career
Adamson graduated from the
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD) is part of the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. It is ranked as one of the top schools of art and design in the United Kingdom.
History
Attempts were made to establish an art schoo ...
in
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
in 1976. During the course of his degree, he won the Scottish Education Department's Travelling Scholarship. He won another scholarship immediately after his graduation. In 1977, he was granted a scholarship to work in France by the
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation (formerly The Elizabeth T. Greenshields Memorial Foundation) is a private Canadian charity that provides grants to young artists working in representational painting, sculpture, drawing and/or printmaking. ...
, of Canada.
Having exhibited with
street art
Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.
Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...
specialists, the
Signal Gallery, as well as having an audience within the nightclub scene in London, he has transcended his original Scottish colourist roots in terms or market, and found favour with a younger audience. He won both the
Schmincke Pastel prize from the
Pastel Society in 2012, as well as first prize within the non-member category,
[Hastings Observer http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/artist-s-work-in-pastel-exhibition-1-5187887 Accessed 4/11/2013] and continues to exhibit internationally.
Collections
Adamson's works are part of the collections of museums the world over. Some notable locations of his works include the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York, The Fleming Collection, London,
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around ...
, CSO Valuation,
Gartmore Investment Co. Ltd.,
Prudential Insurance
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both Investor#Retail_investor, retail and i ...
and the
Wiltshire Education Department. His works are in several private collections.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Crawfurd
1953 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Dundee
Artists from Edinburgh