PATRICK GEORGE: FROM PROSE TO POETRY

There is no doubt that Patrick George (1923 - 2016) was one of the very great painters of the last 50 years, and he was recognized as such by his fellow artists. Patrick George is best known for the magical series of landscapes of Suffolk which he painted after he moved there in 1961. These are lyrical paintings of a rare talent, working in the footsteps of Constable and Gainsborough. As he grew older he produced some of his best work, shimmering paintings of a flickering radiance, authority and intensity, every slight touch painted with great care.

From his school days, when he founded an oil painting club with Lucien Freud, Patrick lived for painting and for teaching painting. He taught for 40 years at The Slade, latterly as Professor and Director. His exhibitions included an Arts Council retrospective in 1980 at the Serpentine and on tour, and group shows at The Yale Centre for British Art and the Tate Gallery, London.