Richard Wawro
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Richard Wawro (14 April 1952 – 22 February 2006) was a Scottish artist notable for his
landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
in wax oil crayon. He was an
autistic savant Savant syndrome ( , ) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment. Those with the condition generally have a neurodeve ...
.


Life

Wawro was the son of Tadeusz and Olive Wawro; his father was a Polish military officer and civil engineer who had settled as a librarian in
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, Scotland and his mother a Scottish primary schoolteacher. He was diagnosed as "moderately to severely retarded" at the age of three, a condition later recognised as
autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
. He did not learn to speak before the age of 11 and required eye surgery to remove
cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens (anatomy), lens of the eye that leads to a visual impairment, decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or ...
s, which left him with sufficiently poor eyesight to be classed as
legally blind Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...
. As a toddler, Wawro began to draw on a
chalkboard A blackboard or a chalkboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulphate or calcium carbonate, better known as chalk. Blackboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or da ...
. At the age of six, his mother brought him to Molly Leishman, in the local children's centre, a special needs teacher who noticed his fascination with light and reflections. She introduced him to wax
crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder (material), binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a ...
s, the medium in which he would work in for the rest of his life. Initially, his drawings were simple scribbles, much like those of his peers. But soon his scribbles began to evolve into recognisable images, with an unexpected level of detail and sophistication. His talent was recognised soon after. Professor Marian Bohusz-Szyszko of the Polish School of Art, London, said he was "thunderstruck" at Wawro's drawings, describing them as "an incredible phenomenon rendered with the precision of a mechanic and the vision of a poet". In 1970 the Edinburgh impresario
Richard Demarco Richard Demarco CBE (born 9 July 1930 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish artist and promoter of the visual and performing arts. Early life He was born at 9 Grosvenor Street in Edinburgh on 9 July 1930 the son of Carmino Demarco and his wife Elizabe ...
"discovered" Wawro, then aged 17, and exhibited his works in his gallery. His story was presented on the BBC's '' Nationwide'' programme. The report was shown a second time as one of the programme's highlights of that year. In the early 1970s one of his London exhibitions was opened by
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
, then Education Minister, who bought several of his pictures, as did
John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
. He got his father's approval for each picture until his father died in 2002. Overall he sold more than 1,000 pictures in around 100 exhibitions. His original art was first introduced in the United States in 1977 at a
National Council of Teachers of English The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discip ...
conference on Creativity for the Gifted and Talented in New York City. In 1983 his life and work were the subject of a documentary film, ''With Eyes Wide Open'', by the autism expert Laurence A. Becker, Ph.D. who also produced a video profile of him, ''A Real Rainman''. Wawro died in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
of
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
on 22 February 2006.


Works

Wawro worked in the unusual medium of wax oil crayon, specialising in landscapes and seascapes that were acclaimed for their highly detailed and dramatic images of intense depth and colour. He used no models, but drew from images seen only once, such as in books or on television; his phenomenal memory enabled him to recall where he drew each picture and to date it precisely in his mind. Although possessing perfect recall, he often added his own touches to the images. He was particularly inspired by light, and the tones he used to capture light and shadows are considered masterly. A collection of nine of Wawro's drawings was featured on an episode of BBC's ''
Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...
'', filmed at
Thirlestane Castle Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Scottish Borders, Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley o ...
and broadcast on 22 September 2024. Wawro's brother gave some biographical information.


See also

*
Stephen Wiltshire Stephen Wiltshire (born 24 April 1974) is a British architectural artist and autistic savant. He is known for his ability to draw a landscape from memory after seeing it just once. His work has gained worldwide fame. In 2006, Wiltshire wa ...


References


Sources

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External links


Wawro's website

Biography

Gallery
Images of a selection of his paintings {{DEFAULTSORT:Wawro, Richard 1952 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 21st-century Scottish painters 21st-century Scottish male artists Autistic savants Scottish autistic people Deaths from lung cancer in Scotland British outsider artists People from Newport-on-Tay Scottish people of Polish descent Autistic artists British artists with disabilities 20th-century Scottish male artists