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Peter Jeffrey Matthews (born 29 July 1942) is a British printmaker, former teacher at Royal College of Art (RCA) and senior lecturer at
After graduating from Ealing School of Art, Matthews was appointed craftsman/demonstrator in the Printmaking Department at the RCA in London. He worked with many artists of that time and assisted David Hockney in editioning his early etchings 1962-1964. This included: ''Myself and My Heroes'', ''Gretchen and the Snurl'' ''My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean'' and ''Kaisarion and all his Beauty''. Matthews reflects on printing Hockney's ''Kaisarion'' (while he was still at Ealing) in an interview in 2011. His name is often incorrectly spelled as Peter Mathews when being credited as the printer of Hockney's etchings. In 1966, he became a Senior Lecturer in the Printmaking Department of the Wimbledon School of Art where he taught BA and MA courses in Printmaking until 1998.
Landscape has always dominated his work. Early inspiration came from the quarries of Wales and the idea of figures in an empty pared-down landscape. In 1971, he established a studio on the north coast of Scotland. There were no more figures, only the rocks, heather, rivers, cliffs and sea of
*1984–98 Fellow and later Council Member, Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Now Honorary Fellow.
*Candid Magazine ''David Hockney – The Complete Early Etchings 1961–1964
*Christopher Simon Sykes, ''Hockney: The Biography, Volume 1'', Century, 2011, *Hartley, Craig (September 1988). "David Hockney Printmaking and Technique—I". Print Quarterly. Vol.No.5 (Issue No.3): p. 242–256. Retrieved 26 July 2017. *"Anthony Dawson - Artists' Agent". (January 1971). Arts Review Vol.XXIX (Issue No.2): p. 56-57. Retrieved 26 July 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Peter 1942 births Living people Academics of the Royal College of Art Academics of the University of the Arts London Alumni of Ealing Art College British printmakers
Wimbledon School of Art
Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London specialising in theatre, screen and performance art. It is located in Wimbledon and Merton Park, South West London.
...
. Educated at Ealing School of Art
Ealing Art College (or Ealing Technical College & School of Art) was a further education institution on St Mary's Road, Ealing, London, England. The site today is the Ealing campus of University of West London.
History
In the early 1960s the Sc ...
, Matthews went on to assist at Editions Alecto and editioned most of David Hockney's early etchings. Matthews has also exhibited his own work extensively including at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA), Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) Gallery, and with the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers
The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), known until 1991 as the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, is a leading art institution based in London, England. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as it was originally styled, was ...
, being elected a Fellow and later Council Member 1984–98. His work is held in a number of public collections in the UK and overseas, including the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A); 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 Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of O ...
; Albertina Museum, Vienna; Royal Library of Belgium
The Royal Library of Belgium (french: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history t ...
and the Free Library, Philadelphia.
Artistic career
Employment
After graduating from Ealing School of Art, Matthews was appointed craftsman/demonstrator in the Printmaking Department at the RCA in London. He worked with many artists of that time and assisted David Hockney in editioning his early etchings 1962-1964. This included: ''Myself and My Heroes'', ''Gretchen and the Snurl'' ''My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean'' and ''Kaisarion and all his Beauty''. Matthews reflects on printing Hockney's ''Kaisarion'' (while he was still at Ealing) in an interview in 2011. His name is often incorrectly spelled as Peter Mathews when being credited as the printer of Hockney's etchings. In 1966, he became a Senior Lecturer in the Printmaking Department of the Wimbledon School of Art where he taught BA and MA courses in Printmaking until 1998.
Body of work
Landscape has always dominated his work. Early inspiration came from the quarries of Wales and the idea of figures in an empty pared-down landscape. In 1971, he established a studio on the north coast of Scotland. There were no more figures, only the rocks, heather, rivers, cliffs and sea of Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded b ...
and Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire ( ...
. He used several plates for each etching and a wide colour palette a
In 1991, he moved his studio to South-West France, where the landscape is in direct contrast to Scotland. The French etchings are mainly in black and white and demonstrate his fascination with time of day and shadows. Matthews ceased etching in 1998 and has returned to painting in oils informed by the landscape of the Charente.
During his 37-year career Matthews has had his work exhibited extensively in the UK and overseas both in solo and group exhibitions and his work is held in many public collections around the world. His biography has been listed in ''Debrett's People of Today'' 1994–1998 and ''Who's Who of Art''.
Personal life
Matthews now, after living in the Charente region of France for 11 years, resides in Woodbridge, Suffolk.Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
*1977 Amalgam Gallery, London *1978 Galleri Unicorn, Copenhagen *1996 Foreign Press Association, LondonGroup exhibitions
*1961 RWS Gallery, London *1964 Tib Lane Gallery *1966 “British Printmakers in the 60s”, travelling through USA with London Arts gallery *1970 AIA Gallery/Royal Institute, Glasgow *1972-7 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition *1975 Galerie Arnaud, Paris *1978 “British Contemporary Etchers”, Associated American Arts Gallery, New York *1979 “50 Years of Printmaking at the Royal College of Art” *1980-2 Scottish Print Open, Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow *1983 Scottish Print Open, Sweden. Norway, Finland *1983 Exhibition with La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine, Bankside Gallery, London *1985 16th Ljubljana Print Biennale, Yugoslavia (British Council invited artist) *1985 Contemporary Prints, Barbican Centre, London *1986 Grafiska Sallskapets Galleri, Stockholm, Sweden *1988 British Contemporary Art Fair *1989 Exhibition of British Prints, State Publishing Organisation, Moscow, Russia *1989 5th International Print Biennale, Bulgaria (by invitation) *1990 AD Fine Art, Barbican Centre, London *1994/5 National Print Exhibition, The Mall Galleries, London *1994 Grafica Pryzmat, Kraków, Poland *1994 Maastricht International Print Biennale, Holland *1995 Hochschule Fur Kunste, Bremen, Germany *1996 National College of Art and Design, Oslo, Norway *1996 Boxed Prints, Hardware Gallery, London *1996 New Academy Gallery, London *1996 National Gallery, Ulan Bator, Outer Mongolia *1997 Morandi Gallery, Bologna, Italy *1997 National Print Exhibition, The Mall GalleriesPublic collections
*Victoria and Albert Museum *Ashmolean Museum *Bibliothèque Royale, Brussels, Belgium *South London Art Gallery *Greenwich Library, London *Cheltenham Art Gallery, England *Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, England *Northampton Art Gallery, England *Southampton Art Gallery, England *Arts Council, Northern Ireland *King's College, London *Free Library, Philadelphia, USA *Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria *British Council *Morandi Galleria, Bologna, ItalyEducation
1957–1962 Ealing School of Art, London National Diploma in Art and Design (Painting and Printmaking)Employment
*1961 Editioning, St George’s Gallery, London *1962-4 Assisting David Hockney, Editions Alecto, London *1962-6 Royal College of Art, Craftsman- Demonstrator in Etching *1966–98 Senior Lecturer in Printmaking, Wimbledon School of Art, London *2007 Visiting Lecturer, Faculty of Fine Art, University of Yaoundé, CameroonPrizes
*1997 Gavin Graham Award, National Print Exhibition Committees and Public Art Activities: *1974–98 Member, Edinburgh Printmakers Worksho*1984–98 Fellow and later Council Member, Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Now Honorary Fellow.
References
Further reading
*''David Hockney, Prints. 1954–77''. Midland Group/Scottish Arts Council. 1979. . *Hockney, David (1976). ''David Hockney by David Hockney''. Thames & Hudson Ltd. . *''David Hockney: The Complete Early Etchings 1961–1964''. Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert and Lyndsey Ingram. . *''David Hockney: Etchings and Lithographs''. Thames & Hudson Ltd. 1989. *Evening Standard ''David Hockney: The Complete Early Etchings, 1961–64, review: A homage to Hockney's heroes*Candid Magazine ''David Hockney – The Complete Early Etchings 1961–1964
*Christopher Simon Sykes, ''Hockney: The Biography, Volume 1'', Century, 2011, *Hartley, Craig (September 1988). "David Hockney Printmaking and Technique—I". Print Quarterly. Vol.No.5 (Issue No.3): p. 242–256. Retrieved 26 July 2017. *"Anthony Dawson - Artists' Agent". (January 1971). Arts Review Vol.XXIX (Issue No.2): p. 56-57. Retrieved 26 July 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Peter 1942 births Living people Academics of the Royal College of Art Academics of the University of the Arts London Alumni of Ealing Art College British printmakers