Martin Yeoman (born 1953) is an English painter and draughtsman who drew members of the British Royal Family. He was commissioned to draw the Queen's grandchildren and accompanied

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

, on overseas tours as tour artist. He is described as one of the finest draughtsmen working today and is a member of Senior Faculty at the

Royal Drawing School The Royal Drawing School is a not-for-profit educational organisation and registered charity in Shoreditch, in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was founded in 2000 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and artist Catherine Goodma ...

Early life and education

Yeoman was born in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1953. In 1973, Yeoman sold his drawings in India and Pakistan before returning to England to attend art school. He was Peter Greenham's guest student at the

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

. Yeoman's work was first discovered by the Art Collector Sir Brinsley Ford at the premiums exhibition of second year students' work. Yeoman won the silver medal for Drawing, the David Murray Landscape Scholarship, and the Richard Ford Scholarship which allowed him to study abroad in Spain.

Career

In 1983, Christopher Wall of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

gave Yeoman the chance to paint

Basildon Park Basildon Park is a English country houses, country house situated 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of Goring-on-Thames and Streatley in Berkshire, between the villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon. It is owned by the National Trust and is a ...

and Ashdown House. Yeoman was later commissioned for other paintings by the National Trust's Foundation for Art. In November 1986, Yeoman accompanied

, on an official tour of the Gulf States to teach the prince to paint. A few months later, Yeoman returned to the Gulf States under the sponsorship of Sheikh Khalifa of Qatar. The trip also included visiting North Yemen. Yeoman was invited by

on further official tours, one to Hong Kong in November 1989 and India and Nepal in February 1992. July 1988, Yeoman was commissioned by

HM Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She had been queen regnant of 32 sover ...

to create a drawing of physiologist and biophysicist Sir Alan Hodgkin OM, the portrait of which forms part of a series depicting members of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

. In 1992, he was commissioned by the Royal Household to draw the grandchildren of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

to honour the 40th anniversary of her reign. The drawings were later shown on the Royal Landing at 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 ...

in 1993. The drawings are now housed in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. His painting, ''

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

'', created in 1994, is housed in the collection of Mompesson House in Wiltshire. Yeoman's painting of Sir James Whyte Black was commissioned by The National Portrait Gallery in 1994 for their permanent collection. In 1996, Yeoman worked in Yemen on a series of etchings to be used in Tim Mackintosh-Smith's first book ''Yemen: travels in Dictionary Land.'' The British Council organised an exhibition of Yeoman's work in the capital

Sanaa Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

. In 2002, Yeoman was commissioned to paint Mathew Sheeran and

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

, his painting 'Ed Sheeran 2002' was included in the 2019 exhibition "Ed Sheeran: Made in Suffolk". The British Museum exhibition titled '''Yemen, Solomon & Sheba''' included Yeoman's drawing titled '''A man from Taizz, 1996. The subject is of a figure drawn from life within the old city of Sanaa,

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. The drawing is held within collection of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. His painting of D-Day pilot Laurence 'Laurie' Weeden was commissioned by

, for the exhibition "The Last of the Tide" at the

Queen's Gallery The King's Gallery, previously known as the Queen's Gallery, is a public art gallery at Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the British monarch, in London. First opened to the public in the reign of Elizabeth II in 1962, it exhibits ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. One of Yeoman's self-portraits was bought by the Ruth Borchard Collection in 2016. Yeoman occasionally teaches drawing and painting at the

and is an elected member of the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Yeoman won the

Ondaatje Prize The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the "spirit of a place", and is written by someo ...

for portraiture in 2002 and the Doreen McIntosh Prize in 2016.

Work in Collections

* Queen Elizebeth II *

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

* Sir Brinsley Ford * Diocese of Birmingham * Baring Brothers * Grimsby School of Art *

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 lang ...

* Ruth Borchard Collection 2015

Selected exhibitions

* 1976-1977 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition * 1979-1990 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition * 1981 Imperial Tobacco Portrait Award (National Portrait Gallery) * 1985 Imperial Tobacco Portrait Award (National Portrait Gallery) * 1985 Six Young Artists (Agnews) * 1986 Highgate Gallery * 1987 Two Tours of the Middle East (Agnews) * 1987 Four Painters (New Grafton Gallery) * 1987 The Long Perspective (National Trust Exhibition, Agnews) * 1988 A Personal Choice (Fermoy Gallery) * 1989 Salute to Turner (National Trust Exhibition, Agnews) * 1990 New Grafton Gallery * 1992-1996 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition * 1992 The Order of Merit (National Portrait Gallery) * 1993 The Queen's Grandchildren (National Portrait Gallery) * 1994 Selected Works (Mompesson House National Trust) * 1995 Christopher Wood Contemporary Art * 1997 Yeoman's Yemen (British Council exhibition National Art Gallery Sana'a and John Martin of London) * 2000 Paintings in the Holy Land (Alan Kluckow Fine Art) * 2002 Hindustan to Malabar (Offer Waterman and Co) * 2004 India (Indar Pasricha Fine Art) * 2015 The Last of the Tide (Queen's Gallery Buckingham Palace) * 2016 BP Portrait Award (Nat Portrait Gallery)

Bibliography as illustrator

* * * *

References

External links

Martin Yeoman's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeoman, Martin 1953 births Living people English portrait painters Artists from Surrey Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools English male painters English draughtsmen British contemporary artists 20th-century English artists 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters 20th-century British male artists 21st-century English male artists