Rosa Branson
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Rosa Branson (born 1933) is a British painter and fabric designer, living in Highgate, London. She is the daughter of Clive Branson and
Noreen Branson Noreen Branson (16 May 1910 – 25 October 2003) was a British communist activist, historian, founder of ''Revolt'' newspaper, and a life-long member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). In 1931 she married fellow communist and Inte ...
, and a second cousin of Richard Branson.


Early life and education

Rosa graduated from the Camberwell School of Art as a painter, and after studying at the Slade School, she trained under Professor Helmut Ruhemann, the Chief Restorer of the National Gallery, and spent six years copying works by the Old Masters at the National Gallery in London.


Career

In her career, Rosa has worked in fabric collage design, watercolour and glass design, but her main speciality is the Old Masters oil painting technique of layering subtle glazes of translucent paint over each other. In Rosa's words she is painting the 'modern world using the Old Masters technique'. In a career spanning over 60 years, she has covered a variety of topics, including portraiture, still life, landscape, as well as producing many large-scale charity paintings for organisations such as Oxfam, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army. In 2010 recognised for her achievements in art and charity work with the MBE.


Current affiliations

Rosa is associated with The Worlington Movement, which seeks to promote classical training for art students and to assist young artists in acquiring essential skills in drawing and oil painting. She runs a busy studio in Highgate, assisting in the development of artists such as Heath Rosselli Yuliya Lennon Tanja Hassel, Tracy Field, Cynthia Anatole, Dawn Kay and Sandra Busby.


Life


Early life

Born to Clive and
Noreen Branson Noreen Branson (16 May 1910 – 25 October 2003) was a British communist activist, historian, founder of ''Revolt'' newspaper, and a life-long member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). In 1931 she married fellow communist and Inte ...
, Rosa had a remarkable upbringing. Both of her parents came from a wealthy background but decided to abandon their privileged lives to join the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
and live in Battersea. Her mother later became a historian of the Communist Party. Her father, a successful artist, was killed in Burma at the age of 36, which had a profound effect on Rosa. Before his death, her father has promised to teach her to paint, which made Rosa determined to become a real painter.


Education

After graduating from Camberwell School of Art, Rosa realised that she hadn't acquired the painting skill she needed to paint her visions. She joined the Slade, but found that the school teaching methods still did not meet her needs and went on to learn by copying various works by artists such as Rembrandt, Turner, El Greco at the National Gallery. Noticed by the Chief restorer, Professor Helmut Ruhemann, she received guidance and tuition from him for the next six years.


Life as a professional painter

Rosa's work first found recognition in her early 20s when she was admitted to the prestigious Royal Academy. Rosa's second subject in Camberwell was embroidery and when she had small children she stopped painting and applied her training at the National Gallery to creating fabric collages using the glazing technique of Old Masters. She completed over 100 collages. Rosa works every day, with no weekends and very occasional holidays. She gets up at 5 o'clock and starts work at 9, with her day finishing at 5 pm. She has followed the same working pattern for over 60 years, which has allowed her to produce an enormous volume of work. She believes that it is hard work that makes a successful painter, and that great works of art can only be created by combining great ideas with great skill.


Works

Rosa has completed over 600 paintings, which include a variety of subjects. In the last 20 years, the majority of her paintings are large-scale (5 feet by 8 feet) to fit the scope of her charity paintings. Examples of Rosa's paintings in publicly owned British collections can be found on the Art UK website.


Shows


Solo exhibitions

*Woodstock Gallery, London, 1962 and 1964 *Munchick and Franks, London, 1971 *Barclays Bank, London, 1982 *Barbican Centre, London, 1985 *Auden Gallery, London, 1985 *Lyric Theatre, London, 1987 *Ashley's Restaurant, London, 1987 *Highgate Cemetery Chapel, London, 1992 *Bronte Restaurant, Oulton Hall, 1993


Mixed exhibitions

*Royal Academy *Royal Institute of Oil Painters London Group *Young Contemporaries *Society for Education through Art *National Trust and Heritage of Britain *Royal Festival Hall *Mermaid Theatre *Parsons Gallery *Robley Gallery *Easton Gallery *Manor House Gallery *Brandler Gallerie


Collections

Private collections: *Lambeth Palace *Lord Sugar


Awards

*Received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Winchester in 2013 *Received the MBE for services to art and charity in the 2010 New Year's Honours *Winner of the Morrison International Decanter Design Competition *Guest at the 1993 “Woman of the Year"


References


External links

* Feature on Clive and Rosa Branso
Clive Branson, Rosa Branson and 'red Battersea'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branson, Rosa 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters English designers Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire 1933 births English women painters 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English women artists 20th-century women painters 21st-century women painters