Sir Roger de Grey, (18 April 1918 – 14 February 1995) was a British landscape painter. From 1984 to 1993 he served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

Early life and career

De Grey was the second son (and youngest of three children) of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Lieutenant-Commander Nigel de Grey (1886–1951) and his wife Florence, daughter of Spencer William Gore and a descendant of

Arthur Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran Arthur Saunders Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran KP, PC (Ire) (25 July 1734 – 8 October 1809) styled The Honourable Arthur Gore from 1758 to 1762 and Viscount Sudley from 1762 to 1773, was an Irish peer and politician. Early life Arran was the eldest ...

and

John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough, PC (31 August 1781 – 16 May 1847), known as Viscount Duncannon from 1793 to 1844, was a British Whig politician. He was notably Home Secretary in 1834 and served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ...

. Nigel de Grey was a grandson of

Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham (6 July 1804 – 31 December 1870), of Merton Hall, Norfolk, was a British peer. Life Grey was born in Chelsea, the eldest son of the Venerable Thomas de Grey, Archdeacon of Surrey, a clergyman who in 1831 ...

, like his wife, descended from the 4th Earl of Bessborough, and was also descended from the Barons Rendlesham and

Viscounts Dillon Viscount Dillon, of Costello- Gallen in the County of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1622 for Theobald Dillon, Lord President of Connaught. The Dillons were a Hiberno-Norman landlord family from the 13th centur ...

. He studied art at

Chelsea Polytechnic Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

from 1936–1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was commissioned in the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

. After the War he returned to Chelsea to complete his studies from 1946–1947. His tutors included

Ceri Richards Ceri Giraldus Richards (6 June 1903 – 9 November 1971) was a Welsh painter, print-maker and maker of reliefs. Biography Richards was born in 1903 in the village of Dunvant, near Swansea, the son of Thomas Coslett Richards and Sarah Ri ...

Robert Medley Charles Robert Owen Medley CBE, RA, (19 December 1905 – 20 October 1994), also known as Robert Medley, was an English artist who painted in both abstract and figurative styles, and who also worked as theatre designer. He held several teachin ...

, Harold Sandys Williamson and

Raymond Coxon Raymond James Coxon (18 August 1896 – 31 January 1997) was a British artist. He enrolled at the Leeds School of Art, the Royal College of Art, and became a teacher in the Richmond School of Art. The creative work of his long and successful ...

. De Grey was a

landscape artist Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

, often working in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and in France, painting outdoors and then finishing his work in his studio. His first solo exhibition was at the

Thomas Agnew & Sons Thomas Agnew & Sons is a fine arts dealer in London that began life as part of in a print and publishing partnership with Vittore Zanetti in Manchester in 1817 which ended in 1835, when Agnew took full control of the company. The firm opened its Lo ...

Gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

in 1954. Later he exhibited at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

and

, as well as internationally. His paintings are still sought after by collectors.

Teaching and administration

De Grey had a long and distinguished career as an art educator: a Lecturer of King's College,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

(1947–1951), then Master of Painting (1951–1953), 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 ...

, he was Senior Tutor, and later Reader in Painting from 1953–1973. From 1973–1995 he was the Principal of the

City and Guilds of London Art School Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...

. From 1971, he was a Trustee of

Paintings in Hospitals Paintings in Hospitals is an arts in health charity in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1959, the charity's services include the provision of artwork loans, art projects and art workshops to health and social care organisations. The charity's acti ...

and enabled the charity to acquire works by Royal Academicians. He was also a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery from 1984 to 1995. In 1962, Roger de Grey was elected an Associate member of the Royal Academy, becoming a full Academician in 1969. From 1976 until 1984, he was the Treasurer of the RA under

Sir Hugh Casson Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect. He was also active as an interior designer, as an artist, and as a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for t ...

. De Grey succeeded Casson as President in 1984. Roger de Grey was elected Senior RA in October 1993, the year he stepped down from being President. He was elected an honorary member of the Royal West of England Academy of Art (RWA) in 1994.

Family

A great-nephew of the 7th Baron Walsingham, de Grey was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1991 for "services to British art". The Royal Academy provided an exhibition of his work ''in memoriam'' in 1996. The Tate Gallery and

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

hold several examples of his work. In 1942, he married Flavia Hatt , (''née'' Irwin), also a notable artist, who died in London in 1995, aged 77. Sir Roger and Lady de Grey had three children: Spencer, Robert and Emilia.

References

External links

*
Artnet website page

National Portrait Gallery website page
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Grey, Roger 1918 births 1995 deaths English landscape painters

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Eton College People from Meopham Royal Academicians Royal Armoured Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II

Early life and career

Teaching and administration

Family

See also

References

External links