John Miller (artist)
Encyclopedia
John Miller was an English
artist born in London
who became famous for his idyllic representation of beach
scenes in his home county of Cornwall
. Most of his paintings were of the West Penwith
peninsula and Tresco
in the Isles of Scilly
.
During the 1970s John Miller emerged as a cultural figurehead within Cornwall. He became well known as a painter of popular, Monet
-like Cornish scenes (many of which were cheaply reproduced as prints for the tourist trade), as an art teacher, a television personality, a patron of local charities and an active supporter of the Church of England
. He was also responsible for some high profile architectural projects including a reordering of the interior of Newlyn Art Gallery
.
At an advanced stage in his career John Miller’s artistic style underwent a radical change and by the mid-1990s his work (but not always his name) had become known worldwide as a result of the mass production and distribution of cheap posters, prints and cards with reproductions of his distinctive beach paintings: he produced the first of these in what was to become recognised as his trademark style in 1992. The beach scenes had enormous market appeal and have become firmly established as iconic images which - now much imitated - apparently spawned a genre. The paintings themselves, which Miller continued to produce in large numbers until his death in 2002, became highly sought after and were only available through selected London galleries at successive annual exhibitions which usually sold out well before their official opening dates.
John Miller was elected to become a member of the Newlyn Society of Artists in 1961. John Miller, a household name in Cornwall since the mid-1970s, is an artist whose work continues to have an extremely high public profile, both in the UK and internationally. In a 2003 survey (for the periodical 'Art Business Today') of 200 United Kingdom high street gallery owners whose businesses specialised in posters and popular art reproductions, Miller was listed alongside Monet
and L.S. Lowry among the ‘top-four’ best-selling landscape artists and fifth - above Van Gogh
(7th), Picasso
(8th), and Matisse
(10th) - in a list of the current ‘top-ten’ best-selling deceased artists in all genres. John Miller’s work is currently (2004-5) the subject of academic investigation by a postgraduate student at the University of Kent
, Canterbury
, England.
John Miller's works are currently (2009) viewable and sold at New Craftsman gallery in St.Ives.
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...
artist born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
who became famous for his idyllic representation of beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
scenes in his home county of 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...
. Most of his paintings were of the West Penwith
Penwith
Penwith was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, whose council was based in Penzance. The district covered all of the Penwith peninsula, the toe-like promontory of land at the western end of Cornwall and which included an area of land to the east that fell outside the...
peninsula and Tresco
Tresco
Tresco is the second-biggest island of the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is in size, measuring about by .-History:In early times one group of islands was in the possession of a confederacy of hermits. King Henry I gave it to Tavistock Abbey which established a priory on Tresco;...
in the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
.
During the 1970s John Miller emerged as a cultural figurehead within Cornwall. He became well known as a painter of popular, Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
-like Cornish scenes (many of which were cheaply reproduced as prints for the tourist trade), as an art teacher, a television personality, a patron of local charities and an active supporter of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He was also responsible for some high profile architectural projects including a reordering of the interior of Newlyn Art Gallery
Newlyn Art Gallery
Newlyn Art Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located in Newlyn, Cornwall, UK. Opened in 1895, designed by James Hicks of Redruth and financed by John Passmore Edwards the gallery was conceived as a home and exhibition venue for the Newlyn School of Art the works of which are now largely located...
.
At an advanced stage in his career John Miller’s artistic style underwent a radical change and by the mid-1990s his work (but not always his name) had become known worldwide as a result of the mass production and distribution of cheap posters, prints and cards with reproductions of his distinctive beach paintings: he produced the first of these in what was to become recognised as his trademark style in 1992. The beach scenes had enormous market appeal and have become firmly established as iconic images which - now much imitated - apparently spawned a genre. The paintings themselves, which Miller continued to produce in large numbers until his death in 2002, became highly sought after and were only available through selected London galleries at successive annual exhibitions which usually sold out well before their official opening dates.
John Miller was elected to become a member of the Newlyn Society of Artists in 1961. John Miller, a household name in Cornwall since the mid-1970s, is an artist whose work continues to have an extremely high public profile, both in the UK and internationally. In a 2003 survey (for the periodical 'Art Business Today') of 200 United Kingdom high street gallery owners whose businesses specialised in posters and popular art reproductions, Miller was listed alongside Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
and L.S. Lowry among the ‘top-four’ best-selling landscape artists and fifth - above Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
(7th), Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
(8th), and Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
(10th) - in a list of the current ‘top-ten’ best-selling deceased artists in all genres. John Miller’s work is currently (2004-5) the subject of academic investigation by a postgraduate student at the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
, Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, England.
John Miller's works are currently (2009) viewable and sold at New Craftsman gallery in St.Ives.