David Cobley (born 27 June 1954) is an English portrait and figure painter and founder of Bath Artists' Studios.

Early life

David Hugh Cobley was born in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

in 1954. He grew up in

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and had a population of 8,82 ...

and was educated at the county primary school there before going on to Wellingborough Grammar School and Northampton School of Art. He dropped out of

Liverpool College of Art Liverpool College of Art has an unbroken history dating back to 1825, making it the oldest English school of art outside London. From 1883 it was located at 68 Hope Street, Liverpool, England, in a building designed by Thomas Cook, which is no ...

in 1972, but was briefly taught there by Welsh landscape painter Peter Prendergast. He completed a degree in Comparative Culture at

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese language, Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit research university in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1913 by ...

during his nine-year stay in Japan.

Career

After working as an

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

he began painting

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

s, and was shortlisted for the John Player Portrait Award, now the

BP Portrait Award The BP Portrait Award was an annual portraiture competition held at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. It is the successor to the John Player Portrait Award. It is the most important portrait prize in the world, and is reputedly ...

, in 1989. He was elected to the

Royal Society of Portrait Painters The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture art. Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commi ...

in 1997, and was commissioned by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

to paint

The Princess Royal Princess Royal is a title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been ...

in 2000. His portrait of the comedian

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedy, comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up comedy, stand-up pe ...

was bought by the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

for its permanent collection in 2005. Five years later, The National Portrait Gallery commissioned him to paint a portrait of the scientist Sir Martin John Evans.

Associations

(with date of election) *

(1997) * Royal West of England Academy (2001) *

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...

(2003)

Publications

*''David Cobley: All By Himself'' by Peter Davies (2019) published by Sansom & Company

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase or receive ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. A different ISBN is assigned to e ...

: 978-1-911408-53-6 *''The Portrait Now'' (Nairne and Howgate)

References

External links

Website
davidcobley.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobley, David 1954 births Living people 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters 21st-century English male artists Members of the Royal West of England Academy People from Higham Ferrers Artists from Northampton 20th-century English male artists