David Inshaw (born 21 March 1943 in

Wednesfield Wednesfield is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, It is east-northeast of Wolverhampton city centre and about from Birmingham and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was historically w ...

, Staffordshire, England) is a British artist who sprang to public attention in 1973 when his painting ''

The Badminton Game ''The Badminton Game'' is a 1973 painting by the English painter David Inshaw. It was inspired by the gardens of Devizes and the landscape of Wiltshire. Inshaw has described how the place gave him a feeling of "mystery and wonder". He wrote abou ...

'' was exhibited at the ICA ''Summer Studio'' exhibition in London. The painting was subsequently acquired by the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

and is one of several paintings from the 1970s that won him critical acclaim and a wide audience. Others include ''The Raven'', ''Our days were a joy and our paths through flowers'', ''She did not turn'', ''The Cricket Game'', ''Presentiment'' and ''

The River Bank (Ophelia) ''The River Bank (Ophelia)'' is a 1980 painting by the English painter David Inshaw. The subject is from William Shakespeare's play '' Hamlet''. It was made for a joint exhibition of the Brotherhood of Ruralists, where each artist made his own ...

''.

Career

David Inshaw studied at Beckenham School of Art in 1959–63 and the

Royal Academy Schools 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 purpo ...

in 1963-66. A teaching post at the West of England College of Art,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

, in 1966–75 was followed by a two-year fellowship in Creative Art at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, in 1975–77. Inshaw moved to

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between St ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

, in 1971 and formed the Broadheath Brotherhood with Graham and Ann Arnold in 1972. The three artists were joined by Peter Blake,

Jann Haworth Jann Haworth (born 1942) is a British-American pop artist. A pioneer of soft sculpture, she is best known as the co-creator of The Beatles' '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album cover. Haworth is also an advocate for feminist rights ...

, and Graham and Annie Ovenden in 1975, when the group was renamed the Brotherhood of Ruralists. The Ruralists exhibited together for the first time at the

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...

in 1976, and Inshaw left the group seven years later, in 1983. He moved to

Clyro Clyro ( cy, Cleirwy) is a village and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales, with 781 inhabitants as of the 2011 UK Census. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some to the south-east. History The name of the village is thought to derive from the ...

near

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye ( cy, Y Gelli Gandryll), simply known locally as "Hay" ( cy, Y Gelli), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales; it was historically in the county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the to ...

in 1989 but returned to Devizes in 1995 and has lived there since. Inshaw's paintings are held in many private and public collections, including the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council ...

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...

, the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...

, the

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade 2* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition progra ...

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in E ...

and

Wiltshire Museum The Wiltshire Museum, formerly known as Wiltshire Heritage Museum and Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is run by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Nat ...

. A major book on Inshaw's life and work was published in 2010, the David Inshaw website and on-line gallery was launched in 2011, and Inshaw was made an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

by Durham University in 2012. An exhibition of new paintings and ''

'' (on loan from Tate Britain) was held at the

Fine Art Society The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town (originally Bourne Fine Art, established 1978). The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society s ...

, London, in 2013 with a second exhibition in 2015 to coincide with an updated edition of Andrew Lambirth's book on the artist. ''Bonjour Mr Inshaw'' is a collection of poetry inspired by Inshaw's art written by Peter Robinson and illustrated with David Inshaw's works.

Selected exhibitions

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Filmography

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References

External links

The David Inshaw website and on-line gallery
Examines the artist's career to date, with an online gallery of over 200 artworks.
Unicorn Press
Publisher of Andrew Lambirth's book, ''David Inshaw''.
Two Rivers Press
Publisher of ''Bonjour Mr. Inshaw''
''The Badminton Game''
at Tate Britain, London. {{DEFAULTSORT:Inshaw, David 1943 births Living people English landscape painters British contemporary painters British pop artists Brotherhood of Ruralists