An acclaimed master of contemporary realist painting, British painter
Henry
Ward specialises in life size, full length portraiture. Be it independent
work, or portraiture on commission, Henry Ward has specialised in
figurative
painting since his career began in 1995.
Henry was the recipient of a sophisticated and diverse art education.
Trained in classical figurative painting, and in art theory, his paintings
employ an unusual blend of the classical and the contemporary. It is this
individualistic work that has made Henry Ward one of Britain's most
collectable young figurative painters. Exhibited in top international
galleries, and supported by an elite group of international collectors,
Henry has worked full time as an artist since he left University in 1995.
Born in 1971, Henry was educated at Harrow School, and Chelsea College
of Art. He then attended London's Goldsmiths College, and
Winchester
School of Art, where he gained his Masters Degree in Contemporary Art
Theory. The artist moved to New York in 1996. It was here that the fusion
of
classical painting and contemporary argument flourished. He produced the 'Model
Paintings' for his solo show 'Iconostasis' at Tatistcheff &
Co, on New York's 57th Street & 5th Avenue,
in 1999.
Henry's Father was a Judge in The Supreme Court in Bermuda, and his son
was
already known for a series of sell-out solo shows on the island. Following
his New York success, the artist dominated several Bermuda National
Gallery Biennials, during which time his reputation in Bermuda was established.
Two
strains of his work developed: independent figurative painting, and
portrait
commissions. Both borrow from each other, where portrait works have a
crisp
contemporary edge and contemporary figurative paintings have a classical
realism.
After five years at the cutting edge in New York, the artist returned to
Britain in 2001, where he set up studio in London's Notting Hill. Henry was invited to show in Christies of London in 2006, in 'A
Celebration of Art from Harrow School'. His work was selected for the
invitations, catalogue back cover, and BBC London Television interviewed
him
for their coverage of the exhibition. Henry's solo exhibition 'Glimpses' followed in the same year, on London's Bond Street, at John
Mitchell Fine Paintings. He has had numerous other international solo
exhibitions.
Currently Henry works full time on portrait commissions, for which he has a waiting list. His current commission is a group portrait of the World Presidents of the International College of Surgeons in Chicago. Measuring 10' x 6',
and featuring twelve full length portraits, the canvas documents the living World Presidents of the College, and is destined to hang in the Museum of the I.C.S. In Chicago.
Both in his own works, and in portrait commissions, Henry Ward constantly
strives for unorthodox means of presenting the subject. Influences on his
work are as diverse as Rembrandt, Chuck Close, Lucian Freud, and
Thomas Eakins. In Henry's Ward's work, the intention is to portray
character, and human experience, within the painted form. This can be
within
fully realist
paintings, or figures placed within colouristic grounds.
Henry distills the essential nature of his subject, creating an essential
form within the painted portrait. He exercises a strict purity in his line and mark making. Henry instructs a weekly Portraiture
Masterclass and is sought after for the classical, but
simplistic, means underpinning his practice.
Be it informally classical portraits, or independent figurative painting,
Henry Ward has created a diversity of work. This has encouraged a
body of collectors that has grown steadily since his career
began. He has an extensive list of portrait clients, and is becoming known
for his Grand scale 'eight footer' portraits of an international elite. He
is increasingly the choice of portraitist, and collectable, for a
cognoscenti who seek his particular blend of contemporary classicism.
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