97 / 138
I
rish
& I
nternational
A
rt
A
uction
M
onday
25
th
A
pril
2016
at
6.00
pm
97
129
Neil Shawcross RHA RUA (b.1940) Still Life - Fruit, Jugs and Bottles (2007)signed & dated 2007
oil on board
122 x 183.5cm (48 x 72in)
Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist
Private Collection
€4,000-6,000 (£3,125-4,687)
Neil Shawcross was born in Lancashire in 1940. He has been resident in Northern Ireland since 1962. Shawcross paints the figure
and still life, taking a self-consciously childlike approach to composition and colour. He sources his still-life subjects from his sur-
roundings, his home, local coffee shops and advertising. When representing a subject as simple as a cup and saucer or a bowl of fruit,
Shawcross translates the mundane domesticity of this object into a painterly statement invested with character. Objects are demar-
cated by thick outlines in black or bold colour and the work is characterised by a remarkable control of medium. A noted colourist
and technical innovator, his still-lifes exude vitality and demonstrate a freshness of approach to this much loved theme which he has
subjected to intense scrutiny over the years.
He has exhibited nationally. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Ulster Academy of Art in 1975, and was made a full Academi-
cian in 1977. He won the Academy’s Conor Award in 1975, its Gold Medal in 1978, 1982, 1987, 1994, 1997 and 2001, and the James
Adam Prize in 1998.