Gillian Ayres
Encyclopedia
Gillian Ayres, CBE
(born 3 February 3 1930) is an English
painter
.
, the junior school for St Paul's, in Hammersmith
, where on her eleventh birthday she finally learnt to read. She passed the entrance exam for St Paul's Girls' School
the following year. Ayres left school in order to study art as soon as she was able. In 1946, she applied to the Slade School of Fine Art
and was accepted. However, at sixteen, she was too young to enrol. She was advised to apply to the Camberwell School of Art and studied there from 1946 to 1950.
Ayres worked part time at the AIA
Gallery in Soho
from 1951 to 1959 before starting a teaching career. Ayres held a number of teaching posts through the 1960s and 1970s, becoming friends with painters such as Howard Hodgkin
, Robyn Denny
and Roger Hilton
. In 1959, Ayres was asked to teach at Bath Academy of Art, Corsham for six weeks. She remained on the teaching staff until 1965. For much of her time at Corsham she shared a teaching studio with Malcolm Hughes. She was a senior lecturer at St Martin’s School of Art, London, from 1965 to 1978 and became head of painting at Winchester School of Art
in 1978. Ayres left teaching in 1981, and moved to an old rectory on the Llyn Peninsula
in north-west Wales
to become a full time painter. She moved again in 1987 to a 15th-century cottage at Morwenstow
on the Devon
-Cornwall
border.
paint in a limited number of colours arranged in relatively simple forms, but later works in oil paint
are more exuberant and very colourful, with a thick impasto
being used. The titles of her paintings, such as Anthony and Cleopatra (1982) and A Midsummer Night (1990), are usually given after the painting is completed and do not directly describe the content of the painting, but rather are intended to resonate with the general mood of the work.
Ayres was shortlisted for the Turner Prize
in 1989. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1986, and in 1991 became a Royal Academician
. She later temporarily resigned from the Academy, following the broadcast of a BBC Omnibus television documentary about the preparations for the controversial Sensation exhibition hosted by the Academy in 1997 show-casing the Young British Artists
. The documentary, according to Ayres, presented an unfair view of the older members of the Academy. Ayres also objected to the inclusion of Marcus Harvey
's portrait of the killer Myra Hindley in the exhibition. She is represented by the Alan Cristea Gallery
, London.
She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 3 February 3 1930) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
Early life and career
Ayres was born on 3 February 1930 in Barnes, London, the youngest of three sisters. Ayres started school when she was six. Her parents, a prosperous couple, sent her to Ibstock, a progressive school in Roehampton run on Fröbel principals. In 1941 Ayres was sent to Colet CourtColet Court
Colet Court is a preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Colet Court pupils go at the age of 13.-History:...
, the junior school for St Paul's, in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, where on her eleventh birthday she finally learnt to read. She passed the entrance exam for St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
the following year. Ayres left school in order to study art as soon as she was able. In 1946, she applied to the Slade School of Fine Art
Slade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
and was accepted. However, at sixteen, she was too young to enrol. She was advised to apply to the Camberwell School of Art and studied there from 1946 to 1950.
Ayres worked part time at the AIA
Artists' International Association
The Artists International Association or AIA was an organization founded in London in 1933 out of discussion amongst Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland and Edward Ardizzone, the first meeting took place in Misha Black’s room at the Seven...
Gallery in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
from 1951 to 1959 before starting a teaching career. Ayres held a number of teaching posts through the 1960s and 1970s, becoming friends with painters such as Howard Hodgkin
Howard Hodgkin
Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin CH, CBE is a British painter and printmaker. His work is most often associated with abstraction.-Early life:...
, Robyn Denny
Robyn Denny
Robyn Denny, born in Abinger, Surrey in 1930, is one of a group who transformed British art in the late 1950s, leading it into the international mainstream. He studied at the Royal College of Art in the mid-1950s, among a generation that included Richard Smith and Alan Green...
and Roger Hilton
Roger Hilton
Roger Hilton CBE was a pioneer of abstract art in post-war Britain. He was born in 1911 in Northwood, London and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, London under Henry Tonks and also in Paris, where he developed links with painters on the Continent.In World War II he served in the Army, part...
. In 1959, Ayres was asked to teach at Bath Academy of Art, Corsham for six weeks. She remained on the teaching staff until 1965. For much of her time at Corsham she shared a teaching studio with Malcolm Hughes. She was a senior lecturer at St Martin’s School of Art, London, from 1965 to 1978 and became head of painting at Winchester School of Art
Winchester School of Art
Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England.- Overview :...
in 1978. Ayres left teaching in 1981, and moved to an old rectory on the Llyn Peninsula
Llyn Peninsula
The Llŷn Peninsula extends into the Irish Sea from north west Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the modern county and historic region of Gwynedd. The name is thought to be of Irish origin, and to have the same root Laigin in Irish as the word Leinster...
in north-west Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
to become a full time painter. She moved again in 1987 to a 15th-century cottage at Morwenstow
Morwenstow
thumb|Parish Church of St Morwenna and St John the Baptist, MorwenstowMorwenstow is a civil parish and hamlet in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated near the coast approximately six miles north of Bude....
on the Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
-Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
border.
Painting
Her first solo exhibition was held at Gallery One, London in 1956. Ayres' early works are typically made with thin vinylVinyl
A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
paint in a limited number of colours arranged in relatively simple forms, but later works in oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
are more exuberant and very colourful, with a thick impasto
Impasto
In English, the borrowed Italian word impasto most commonly refers to a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface very thickly, usually thickly enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas...
being used. The titles of her paintings, such as Anthony and Cleopatra (1982) and A Midsummer Night (1990), are usually given after the painting is completed and do not directly describe the content of the painting, but rather are intended to resonate with the general mood of the work.
Ayres was shortlisted for the Turner Prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
in 1989. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1986, and in 1991 became a Royal Academician
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
. She later temporarily resigned from the Academy, following the broadcast of a BBC Omnibus television documentary about the preparations for the controversial Sensation exhibition hosted by the Academy in 1997 show-casing the Young British Artists
Young British Artists
Young British Artists or YBAs is the name given to a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London, in 1988...
. The documentary, according to Ayres, presented an unfair view of the older members of the Academy. Ayres also objected to the inclusion of Marcus Harvey
Marcus Harvey
Marcus Harvey is an English artist and painter, one of the Young British Artists .-Exhibitions:Harvey has shown work internationally in many exhibitions including ‘The Führer's Cakes’ at Galleria Marabini in Bologna, ‘Snaps’ at White Cube in London, ‘Sex and the British’ at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac...
's portrait of the killer Myra Hindley in the exhibition. She is represented by the Alan Cristea Gallery
Alan Cristea Gallery
Alan Cristea Gallery is a commercial art gallery on London's Cork Street, founded in 1995 by Alan Cristea. It is the largest publisher and distributor of prints in Europe.-History:...
, London.
She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
2011 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 7 June 2011 in New Zealand and 11 June 2011 in United Kingdom to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2011.-Privy Councillors:...
.