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.

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 l ...

, Sussex and graduated from Slade School of Fine Art, University College of London (1995–1999), receiving a B.A. in

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 metalwor ...

. He won the BP Travel Prize in 1998. When he was 25 the

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 ...

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 ...

. In 2001 he won the BP Portrait Award 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 hum ...

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