Norman Ackroyd
Encyclopedia
Norman Ackroyd, CBE, R.A. (born 1938 in Leeds
, Yorkshire
) is an English
artist
known primarily for his aquatints. He is based in London.
Ackroyd attended Leeds College of Art from 1957–61 and the Royal College of Art
, London
from 1961–64, where he studied under Julian Trevelyan
. Subsequently he lived for several years in the United States. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Art in 1988 and appointed Professor of Etching, University of the Arts, in 1994. He was elected Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art in 2000, and in 2007 was made CBE for services to Engraving and Printing.
Ackroyd's works from the 1960s show his interest in both Pop Art
, particularly artist Jasper Johns
, and Minimalism. His complex compositions from that period often integrate pre-existing imagery such as newspaper clippings.
Gradually Ackroyd abandons the language of Pop Art
; for a time his compositions simplify and grow more abstract, sometimes geometric. In time they depict or suggest naturalistic elements, e.g., hills, clouds, rainbows. Even when depicting rainbows, Ackroyd uses colour only very sparingly. He moves away from stencils and photographic transfers to pure aquatint, beginning the plate sometimes out in the landscape. His mature work can be reminiscent of J.M.W. Turner's, albeit without the benefit of colour.
In the 1980s Ackroyd emerges as a full-blown landscape artist with a deep affinity for the various topographies specific to the British Isles. Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
mounted a retrospective exhibition of these works in 2006 and keeps an archive of the artist's work. Weather and water are made the stuff of
highly experimental and variable compositions, in many instances technical tours de force. Depending on the locale, atmospheric conditions and intended mood, his works range from minimalist, nearly abstract impressions, to richly detailed images of specific places and seasons. Although his work almost never includes the human figure, the landscape subjects he prefers are often ones of age-old human habitation. In scale his prints range from tiny etchings intended to be bound into books to large scale, even huge, etchings. His preferred medium for working directly on paper is watercolour, including a recent project pairing his watercolors with poems by Kevin Crossley-Holland
, published under the title Moored Man. He has also designed a number of large-scale, etched reliefs in steel or bronze commissioned for architectural projects in London, Moscow, Birmingham, and Glasgow.
Recently completed projects include a mural at the Sainsbury Laboratory at Cambridge University, showing scenes from the Galapagos, and a door at Great Portland Estates in London, W1. See also The Stratton Street Series, Categorical Books, London, 2003 (introduction by Ian Ritchie
).
With Douglas Dunn
, he has recently published A Line in the Water; the book was designed by Isambard Thomas. Ackroyd's working methods are described in the most recent issue of Archipelago (No. III, Spring 2009).
Ackroyd's work can be found in several British and American galleries, and in the collections of major museums including the Tate
, the British Museum
, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. He has been featured in several television programmes, including BBC documentaries in 1980 and 2006.
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
) 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...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known primarily for his aquatints. He is based in London.
Ackroyd attended Leeds College of Art from 1957–61 and the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, 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...
from 1961–64, where he studied under Julian Trevelyan
Julian Trevelyan
Julian Otto Trevelyan, RA was a British artist and poet.Trevelyan was the only child of Robert Calverley Trevelyan and his wife Elizabeth van der Hoeven...
. Subsequently he lived for several years in the United States. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Art in 1988 and appointed Professor of Etching, University of the Arts, in 1994. He was elected Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art in 2000, and in 2007 was made CBE for services to Engraving and Printing.
Ackroyd's works from the 1960s show his interest in both Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, particularly artist Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking.-Life:Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns spent his early life in Allendale, South Carolina with his paternal grandparents after his parents' marriage failed...
, and Minimalism. His complex compositions from that period often integrate pre-existing imagery such as newspaper clippings.
Gradually Ackroyd abandons the language of Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
; for a time his compositions simplify and grow more abstract, sometimes geometric. In time they depict or suggest naturalistic elements, e.g., hills, clouds, rainbows. Even when depicting rainbows, Ackroyd uses colour only very sparingly. He moves away from stencils and photographic transfers to pure aquatint, beginning the plate sometimes out in the landscape. His mature work can be reminiscent of J.M.W. Turner's, albeit without the benefit of colour.
In the 1980s Ackroyd emerges as a full-blown landscape artist with a deep affinity for the various topographies specific to the British Isles. Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
mounted a retrospective exhibition of these works in 2006 and keeps an archive of the artist's work. Weather and water are made the stuff of
highly experimental and variable compositions, in many instances technical tours de force. Depending on the locale, atmospheric conditions and intended mood, his works range from minimalist, nearly abstract impressions, to richly detailed images of specific places and seasons. Although his work almost never includes the human figure, the landscape subjects he prefers are often ones of age-old human habitation. In scale his prints range from tiny etchings intended to be bound into books to large scale, even huge, etchings. His preferred medium for working directly on paper is watercolour, including a recent project pairing his watercolors with poems by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Kevin Crossley-Holland
Kevin John William Crossley-Holland is an English translator, children's author and poet.-Life and career:Born in Mursley, north Buckinghamshire, Holland grew up in Whiteleaf, a small village in the Chilterns...
, published under the title Moored Man. He has also designed a number of large-scale, etched reliefs in steel or bronze commissioned for architectural projects in London, Moscow, Birmingham, and Glasgow.
Recently completed projects include a mural at the Sainsbury Laboratory at Cambridge University, showing scenes from the Galapagos, and a door at Great Portland Estates in London, W1. See also The Stratton Street Series, Categorical Books, London, 2003 (introduction by Ian Ritchie
Ian Ritchie
Ian Ritchie is a composer, producer, arranger and saxophonist. He was the producer of Roger Waters' album Radio Kaos, along with many other recordings with artists such as Laurie Anderson , Pete Wylie , Hugh Cornwell and The Big Dish .Ritchie is married to the jazz and cabaret performer Holly...
).
With Douglas Dunn
Douglas Dunn
Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He currently lives in Scotland.-Background:Dunn was born in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire. He was educated at the Scottish School of Librarianship, and worked as a librarian before he started his studies in Hull...
, he has recently published A Line in the Water; the book was designed by Isambard Thomas. Ackroyd's working methods are described in the most recent issue of Archipelago (No. III, Spring 2009).
Ackroyd's work can be found in several British and American galleries, and in the collections of major museums including the Tate
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. He has been featured in several television programmes, including BBC documentaries in 1980 and 2006.
External links
- Artist's personal website with images of recent works. Also for Tender is the North, Paintings and Etchings by Norman Ackroyd, essay by Mary Sara, 1997.
- Royal Academy page
- Central Saint Martin's Archive
- For Moored Man
- For A Line in the Water
- For A Line in the Water in U.K. Or directly from the Royal Academy
- For Archipelago
- For Sainsbury Laboratory building project
- Also for the Sainsbury
- For Norman Ackroyd, Irish Etchings 1987-2008
- For Norman Ackroyd, Scottish Etchings 1974-2006
- http://www.faslondon.comFor Norman Ackroyd, The Secret Painter, 2005, essay by Christopher FraylingChristopher FraylingSir Christopher John Frayling is a British educationalist and writer, known for his study of popular culture.-Biography:Frayling read history at Churchill College, Cambridge and gained a PhD in the study of Jean-Jacques Rousseau...
.] - Portraits at NPG
- On Frank Brangwyn's press