Richard David Shepherd

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

FGRA The Guild of Railway Artists (GRA) is a British-based art guild whose members are painters of railway subjects. Membership can be applied for by submitting examples of one's work. "Friends" of the Guild are supporters of the guild who are not n ...

(25 April 1931 – 19 September 2017) was a British artist and one of the world's most outspoken

conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

. He was most famous for his paintings of

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

(he owned a number of them) and

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

, although he also often painted aircraft, portraits (notably

The Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

) and landscapes. His work has been extremely popular since the 1960s in

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

print reproduction and poster form, as well as other media such as

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

limited edition plates. He published five books about his art, including an autobiography.

Life and work

David Shepherd was born in Hendon, London, England. As a child he lived in

Totteridge Totteridge is a residential area and former village in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a mixture of suburban development and open land (including some farmland) situated 8 miles (13 km) north north-west of Charing Cross. It ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

and he won a children's painting competition in a magazine called ''Nursery World'' when he was eight years old. He then attended Stowe School in Buckinghamshire. Upon leaving school he travelled to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

with the hope of becoming a

game warden A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician or technologist, game warden, forest ranger, forest watcher, forest g ...

, but was rejected as having "no talent whatsoever". He returned to the UK but was rejected by the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London. However, he was taken in by the artist Robin Goodwin who trained him for three years. Neal Brown said in ''

Frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

'' magazine: "David Shepherd is one of the most financially rewarded painters in the UK... Shepherd has brought pleasure to millions, as seen on the many table mats, posters and commemorative plates that bear his work."

David Gower David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...

said, "There is a sense of the atmosphere of the African bush that emanates from all his work."

Conservationist

Shepherd became interested in

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

during an early expedition into the African bush, where he discovered a poisoned water hole with 255 dead

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...

. He had become an outspoken world-known campaigner, and devoted much of his time to this. He was also a steam railway enthusiast, but said in a letter to the UK's ''

The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in ...

'', "you can always build another steam loco but you can't build another tiger." One of his best known paintings, ''Tiger in The Sun'', was painted in 1977. His paintings are not only prized by art collectors but have also raised huge sums for conservation. His first major fund-raising success was a work titled ''Tiger Fire'' which raised £127,000 for Indira Gandhi’s Operation Tiger in 1973. Shephard was also known for his paintings of elephants and among his most well known works were ''The Ivory is Theirs'' and ''Wise Old Elephant''. He was the founder of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1980

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

list "for services to the conservation of wildlife." He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2008

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

list for services to charity and wildlife conservation.

Steam enthusiast

Shepherd owned a number of steam locomotives. He bought both 9F ''Black Prince'' 92203 and Class 4MT No.75029 ''The Green Knight'' direct from British Railways, where he had connections from painting various scenes for them. No.75029 ''The Green Knight'' was sold to the

North Yorkshire Moors Railway The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Geor ...

to finance ''Black Prince''s overhaul, then in 2015 ''Black Prince'' was sold to the

North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limite ...

. All the African locomotives he acquired were British-built. In South Africa the 15F (Nº 3052), presented to him by

Spoornet Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...

in 1991, is stored at

Sandstone Estates Sandstone Estates (Pty) Ltd is a large commercial agricultural enterprise covering over , located on the border with Lesotho in South Africa's Eastern Free State province, close to the Maluti Mountains. The nearest town is Ficksburg, away on th ...

Ficksburg Ficksburg is a town situated at the foot of the 1,750 meter high Imperani Mountain in Free State province, South Africa. The town was founded by General Johan Fick in 1867 who won the territory in the Basotho Wars. He laid out many erven and ...

. It has carried various names, including ''City of Germiston'' and, more recently, his wife's name, ''Avril''. It was moved to Ficksburg in light steam from Pietermaritzburg by Friends of the Rail (a

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

-based heritage steam association) in April 2003 and it steamed again in April 2006, when Friends of the Rail operated it for several trips between

and Kommandonek with Shepherd on board. He also owned two Zambian locomotives from the

Mulobezi Railway The Mulobezi Railway (once known as the Zambezi Sawmills Railway) was constructed to carry timber from Mulobezi to Livingstone in the Southern Province of Zambia, when the country was Northern Rhodesia. The line uses the narrow gauge, also ...

, given to him by then President

Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Diss ...

. One is still in the railway museum in

Livingstone, Zambia Livingstone is a city in Zambia. Until 1935, it served as the capital city of Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). Lying 10 km (6.2 mi) to the north of the Zambezi River, it is a tourism attraction center for the Victoria Falls and a border t ...

, the other was located on the

complex in South Africa. Shepherd donated it, along with a coach, to the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in the UK, where it is undergoing restoration. Shepherd was involved in founding a heritage steam railway in the UK, the

East Somerset Railway The East Somerset Railway is a heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Prior to the Beeching Axe, the railway was once part of the former Cheddar Valley line that ran from Witham to Yatton, meeting the Somer ...

, where the signal box at Cranmore Station has become a small gallery displaying his work. He was also president of the "Railway Ramblers".

Personal life and death

Shepherd's parents gave him a Victorian cottage, with more than an acre of land, in

Frensham Frensham is a village in Surrey, England, next to the A287 road, WSW of Guildford, the county town. Frensham lies on the right bank of the River Wey (south branch), only navigable to canoes, shortly before its convergence with the north bran ...

, Surrey, next to their own house, to encourage him to get engaged to his future wife Avril. The couple had four daughters and lived in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

. Their daughter Mandy is also a wildlife and military artist. On 20 September 2017 the Surrey-based David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) announced that Shepherd had died, on 19 September, after a 10-week fight in hospital with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. The charity paid tribute to his devotion to the animals he painted, with chief executive Karen Botha saying, "David’s passion for wildlife and the role of man in its demise infuriated and inspired him. He was dedicated, tenacious and outspoken, a champion of animals and the people who worked to protect them. He will be greatly missed." Julian Birley, chairman of the

, said: "It is the end of an era. A great man who will forever be credited as one of this country’s greatest pioneers of railway preservation. And in so doing brought pleasure to hundreds of thousands of people."

References

External links