Patrick Procktor facts for kids

Patrick Procktor (born March 12, 1936 – died August 29, 2003) was a talented British painter and printmaker. He was known for his unique style and colorful artworks. Procktor became a member of the Royal Academy, a famous art institution in the United Kingdom.

Early Life and Education

Patrick Procktor was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was four years old, his father passed away, and his family moved to London, England. From the age of 10, Patrick attended Highgate School. One of his teachers there was the well-known landscape painter Kyffin Williams. Patrick planned to study classics at university.

However, his family did not have enough money for him to continue his education. After working for a short time at a builders' merchant, 18-year-old Patrick joined the Royal Navy. During his time in the Navy, he learned to speak Russian.

Becoming a Professional Artist

After leaving the Navy, Patrick worked as a Russian interpreter for the British Council. In his free time, he began to paint and draw. His artistic talent was noticed, and he was accepted into the Slade School of Fine Art in 1958. At art school, he was inspired by artists like William Coldstream. He developed a painting style that often used dark colors and showed real-life subjects.

In 1962, Patrick Procktor became a full-time artist. His first art show was in 1963 at The Redfern Gallery in London. This show was very successful and helped him become well-known in the art world. He even received requests to design covers for pop music records. In 1964, his work was shown in the "New Generation" exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery. This exhibition also featured other famous artists like David Hockney and Bridget Riley.

Artistic Style and Travels

Procktor often used oils, acrylics, and watercolors in his paintings. His art was influenced by pop art, a style that uses images from popular culture. His travels around the world also greatly inspired his work. He visited many countries, including Italy, Greece, India, Egypt, China, and Japan. He once said that "the light in Egypt is violet, in China daffodil, in Venice opalescent," showing how much light and color in different places affected him.

Patrick Procktor was also skilled at making prints. He created a series of prints to illustrate a 1976 edition of the famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In 1984, he was asked to paint a special artwork for the St John the Baptist's Chapel in Chichester Cathedral.

One of his paintings, The Guardian Readers, was used as the cover art for Elton John's 1976 album, Blue Moves. Patrick Procktor was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1996. He passed away seven years later, at the age of 67.

Life in London

Patrick Procktor lived in central London in a flat that was once home to artist William Coldstream. He often socialized with other famous artists and personalities, including Derek Jarman, Francis Bacon, and Cecil Beaton. Several photographs of Procktor taken by Cecil Beaton are now in the National Portrait Gallery. Procktor's own drawing of writer Joe Orton is also in the Gallery's collection.

In 1973, Procktor married Kirsten Benson, a neighbor and restaurant owner. She later sold her restaurant, and Procktor, along with artists like David Hockney and Francis Bacon, provided paintings to decorate the walls of the restaurants in exchange for meals. Patrick Procktor also appeared as himself in the 1974 film A Bigger Splash, which was about David Hockney.

A newspaper obituary described his unique presence: "The annual dinner at the Royal Academy will be much duller for his anarchic absence, that tapering six-foot-six frame, topped by a fez, seemingly on the verge of imminent collapse as it swayed and teetered above the throng."