Neil Lawson Baker - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Early life

Neil attended the Merchant Taylors' School

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood

Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....

in Northwood, Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

as a day boy and then went on to Guy's Hospital

Guy's Hospital

Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...

in London where he qualified as a dental surgeon. Wishing to further his career he went on to study medicine and qualified as a doctor in 1969 at St George's Hospital

St George's Hospital

Founded in 1733, St George’s Hospital is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It shares its main hospital site in Tooting, England with the St George's, University of London which trains NHS staff and carries out advanced medical research....

at Hyde Park Corner

Hyde Park Corner

Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...

in the heart of London's West End

West End of London

The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...

(the building is now the Lanesborough Hotel). Neil then went on to work at The 31Wilton Place Practice where he became senior partner and continued as a leading Dental Surgeon for a further 40 years specialising in high quality restorative dentistry. He also founded The Oral Hygiene Centre at No1 Devonshire Place in the heart of London's Harley Street area. This was the first truly preventive dental practice of it's type and helped to pioneer preventive dentistry. He retired from practice at the age of 70yrs ........what he called a career change ..... into the Art World!

Artistic career

His first artistic expression came while at school where he made a lot of pottery, little of which survives.

Neil used his medical and dentistry knowledge to fund his passion for art and travelled the world visiting galleries and acquiring much contemporary art for his home in London. He developed a keen eye and formed a great interest in the sculpture of Rodin

Auguste Rodin

François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...

and his school of followers.

His artistic passion was helped by meeting Adrien Maeght, the famous French art gallery and museum owner, who happened to be competing alongside Neil in the Paris – Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

vintage car rally in 1970 (Neil is a keen racer of vintage cars). Invitations to visit the Galerie Maeght in Rue du Bac in Paris and later the Fondation Maeght

Fondation Maeght

Fondation Maeght is a museum of modern art situated in Saint-Paul de Vence in the south of France about 25km from Nice. It was founded by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght in 1964 and houses paintings, sculptures, collages, ceramics and all forms of modern art....

in Saint-Paul de Vence to see paintings, sculpture and lithography by Picasso, Miró

Joan Miró

Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...

, Léger

Fernand Léger

Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...

, Calder

Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...

, Arp

Jean Arp

Jean Arp / Hans Arp was a German-French, or Alsatian, sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist in other media such as torn and pasted paper....

and others, had a huge influence on what was to come.

After years of viewing and collecting, in 1987, during his recovery from a serious illness, Neil began to model sculptures as recuperative therapy. His surgeon's eye–hand skills

Eye–hand coordination

Eye–hand coordination is the coordinated control of eye movement with hand movement, and the processing of visual input to guide reaching and grasping along with the use of proprioception of the hands to guide the eyes. In simple terms, eye-hand coordination involves the coordinated vision and...

were helped by a lesson from Kees Verkade

Kees Verkade

Kees Verkade is a Dutch artist and sculptor. He specializes in modeling the human form, with an emphasis on movement and emotion. Most of his sculptures are set in bronze. They depict a variety of people, including children, clowns, athletes, dancers, mothers, and lovers...

, the well-known Dutch sculptor. Kees showed Neil how to model in wax. Neil soon found himself meeting Eric Gibbard at the Burleighfield Foundry who have done work for the Tate Gallery

Tate Gallery

The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...

, Elizabeth Frink, Philip Jackson

Philip Jackson

Philip, Phillip or Phil Jackson may refer to:* Philip Jackson , British actor, played Chief Inspector Japp* Philip Jackson , Royal Sculptor...

, and Oscar Nemon

Oscar Nemon

Oscar Nemon was a Croatian sculptor who was born in Osijek, Croatia, but eventually settled in England. He is best known for his series of more than a dozen public statues of Sir Winston Churchill.-Biography:...

, indeed Eric cast every bronze of Barbara Hepworth's after 1952.

Eric became Neil's friend and mentor and took him to Paris to meet Charles Pinellis at the famous Susse-Fondeur in Arcueil. As a result he soon produced many bronze sculptures both in the UK and France and began selling to private collectors and then to corporate clients.

Many of his works can now be found in public places both in the UK and abroad. His sculptures may be seen in the entrance to the offices of the Houses of Parliament at Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

; at British Gas

Centrica

Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...

Headquarters in Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

and Loughborough

Loughborough

Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...

; in The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange

London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange

The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange is a futures exchange based in London. LIFFE is now part of NYSE Euronext following its takeover by Euronext in January 2002 and Euronext's merger with New York Stock Exchange in April 2007.-History:The London International Financial...

; near Albert Bridge

Albert Bridge, London

Albert Bridge is a Grade II* listed road bridge over the River Thames in West London, connecting Chelsea on the north bank to Battersea on the south bank...

at Sterling House on the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

; at the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

; at Beirut University College in Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

and many other important sites.

Neil was also responsible for the sculpture unveiled by HM The Queen with President Mitterrand

François Mitterrand

François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...

when they opened the
Channel Tunnel

Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...

in May 1994.
Late in 2003 Neil began to use colour and work on two dimensional pieces for the first time. His contemporary works of art are mostly abstract and vibrant and he is prolific in his output.

Neil uses Conté

Conté

Conté, also known as Conté sticks or Conté crayons, are a drawing medium composed of compressed powdered graphite or charcoal mixed with a wax or clay base, square in cross-section...

, watercolour and acrylic

Acrylic paint

Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...

interchangeably. Many of the works are reminiscent of the art of the jazz musician (he was the lead saxophonist in his own swing band for some years, supporting more well-known bands) Neil moves his brush through the world of colour with great virtuosity. He paints as he played, with freedom and fluidity.

Since 2007, Neil has also been exploring the world of high resolution photography as a fine-art form producing a distinct style of work notably of Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

and London.

In 2006, Neil was appointed to the Board of The Arts Club in London and in 2007, Neil was appointed Chairman of the Trustees of the National Open Art Competition.

Recent exhibitions

"DepARTure" – The Arts Club, London: paintings, sculptures and photography – November 2007;
"New Dimension: Fashion and Landmarks" – one month photography exhibition at The Burlington Club, London – February 2008;
"The Russian Reception" photographic display in Canning House, Belgrave Square, London – March 2008.
"The Role of Photography in Contemporary Interior Design" presentation by Jane Arte Watt (BIDA, JAG Contemporary Design) at Franco's, Jermyn Street, London.
" Renaissance Man" The Oxmarket Gallery. Chichester,West Sussex. 2010. A 20 year retrospective.

Married to Grace Lawson Baker, a Speech and Language therapist, Lawson Baker presently lives in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

. His studio is in a barn at his home and he spends most of his time running The National Open Art Competition as Chairman of The Chichester Art Trust . ( A Registered Charity ). He also continues riding and driving his classic cars as well as pursuing his own personal artistic interests and travelling the world.
External links

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