Brendan Neiland (born 23 October 1941 in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west ...

, Staffordshire) is an English artist best known for his paintings of reflections in modern city buildings. In 1992 he was elected to the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...

(RA). Neiland is known for his interpretations of city life. His use of light and pictorial structure, using a spray-gun technique developed at the Royal College of Art, has seen Neiland likened to

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

and

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately suc ...

. His work is widely exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide including, in Britain, the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and ...

, The Tate Gallery London, The Collections of the British Council and the Arts Council of Great Britain. He is represented by the

Redfern Gallery The Redfern Gallery is an exhibition space in the West End of London specialising in contemporary British art. It was founded by Arthur Knyvett-Lee and Anthony Maxtone Graham in 1923 as an artists' cooperative on the top floor of Redfern H ...

and has had numerous shows internationally, including at the Galerie Belvedere in Singapore, who represent him in Singapore and the Far East. In 1998 Neiland was appointed Keeper (Director) of the Royal Academy Schools, and was credited with revitalising what had been a struggling art school. In July 2004 he resigned as Keeper following newspaper reports concerning financial irregularities. Neiland was subsequently expelled from the membership following a vote by Royal Academicians. Neiland is the first artist to be stripped of his membership since James Barry in 1799. It was reported that Neiland had been contributing his own consultancy earnings and funds he had raised independently towards the operation of the Royal Academy Schools. In doing so Neiland had not observed the budgetary discipline and financial controls required by the organisation. Neiland later said he had set aside the missing money, the fruit of his own fundraising efforts, to protect it from being sucked into a general RA fund. Other commentators speculated that his expulsion was connected to an internal power struggle over the governance of the RA. Fellow Academician Sir Peter Blake resigned from the Academy in protest at Neiland's expulsion.Blake quits RA after friends expulsion – The Guardian
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References

External links

Professor Neiland's website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Neiland, Brendan 1941 births Living people English artists Keepers of the Royal Academy Royal Academicians People from Lichfield