Stuart Pearson Wright (born 1975,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

) is an English portrait artist, winner of the

BP Portrait Award The BP Portrait Award is an annual portraiture competition held at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. It is the successor to the John Player Portrait Award. It is the most important portrait prize in the world, and is reputedly ...

Life and works

Wright went to school in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, Sussex and graduated from

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

University College of London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

(1995–1999), receiving a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

. He won the BP Travel Prize in 1998. When he was 25 the National Portrait Gallery acquired his painting of the actor

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

. In 2001 he won the

with his painting of six presidents of the

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

. It was described as "astounding", showing the men surrounding a dead chicken. As part of his prize he was commissioned to paint author J K Rowling and that painting is part of the National Collection. Wright won the

Garrick/Milne Prize The Garrick/Milne Prize was a biennial art prize which served to revive the art of theatrical painting and portraiture. The prize was set up by the Garrick Club in memory of A. A. Milne, a past member. Originally £20,000, the prize was last held ...

in 2005. An exhibition of his work entitled ''Halfboy'' was on show at The Heong Gallery of

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

from 2 November 2018 to 6 February 2019.Downing College website, http://www.dow.cam.ac.uk/cultural-life/heong-gallery/upcoming-exhibitions/halfboy-stuart-pearson-wright He is an extraordinary artist and has created magnificent paintings so far in his life. his exceptional use of oil paint creates an amazing realistic tone to his work.

Personal life

Pearson-Wright was conceived by artificial insemination, and does not know his father. He is married to Polly and has a son, named Wulfred.

References

External links

Home pagePaintings at the National Portrait Gallery
20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters English portrait painters 1975 births Living people Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art BP Portrait Award winners English contemporary artists People educated at East Sussex College 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub