Michael Tyzack (3 August 1933 – 11 February 2007) was a British

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

. He is considered an important representative of contemporary abstract painting. He was also known as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician.

Life and work

Michael Tyzack was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and studied from 1952 to 1956 at 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 ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. Among his most important teachers were William Townsend,

Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was bo ...

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. His early career as a painter was inf ...

and Sir William Coldstream. Among his fellow students included, among others,

Patrick Heron Patrick Heron (30 January 1920 – 20 March 1999) was a British abstract and figurative artist, critic, writer, and polemicist, who lived in Zennor, Cornwall. Heron was recognised as one of the leading painters of his generation. Influenced ...

and William Scott. In 1956 he received a scholarship for a stay in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. After his return in 1957 he was active as a jazz musician in addition to his painting. Tyzack was a member of 56 Group Wales from 1967 to 1972. Tyzack's painting ''Alesso 'B won the first prize at the 1965

John Moores Painting Prize The John Moores Painting Prize is a biennial award to the best contemporary painting, submission is open to the public. The prize is named for Sir John Moores, noted philanthropist, who established the award in 1957. The winning work and short- ...

s in Liverpool. His work is characterized by its colour-happy Geometric abstraction. In 1968, he was a participant of the fourth '

documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...

' in Kassel, with six geometric-abstract paintings. Since 1955 his work has been exhibited in over 50 group exhibitions in the UK and in France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Australia and Canada. Michael Tyzack was a teacher in the UK and North America and was a professor at the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

from 1976 to 2007. He died, aged 73, in Johns Island,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Literature and sources

* Ausstellungskatalog zur IV. documenta: ''IV. documenta. Internationale Ausstellung''; Katalog: Band 1: (Malerei und Plastik); Band 2: (Graphik/Objekte); Kassel 1968 * Kimpel, Harald / Stengel, Karin: ''documenta IV 1968 Internationale Ausstellung – Eine fotografische Rekonstruktion'' (Schriftenreihe des documenta-Archives); Bremen 2007,

References

Links

Examples of his works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyzack, Michael 1933 births 2007 deaths British contemporary painters British painters British male painters British jazz trumpeters British male trumpeters Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art College of Charleston faculty Artists from Sheffield Members of the 56 Group Wales 20th-century British printmakers 20th-century British trumpeters 20th-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians 20th-century British male artists John Moores Painting Prize winners