PETER GRAHAM

2011

No one achieves such fine painterly standards as Peter Graham without considerable passion and dedication. His sharpness of focus balances the ying and yang of intellectual awareness with a constantlyevolving confrontation with technical parameters in oils and in watercolour. His is clearly a journey ofjoy and for some years I have been privileged to engage with him along the paths he treads in finetuning his own melifluous artistic voice. I have enjoyed this experience immensely; as will you, hisadmiring audience.

In artistic lineage, Peter sits squarely in the blood line of La Belle Peinture de la France andits historic impact on the artists of his native Scotland, a unique rapport highlighted in recent RoyalAcademy blockbuster exhibitions such as The Scottish Colourists and The Glasgow Boys. Even hischoices of working locations echo this; for example, Iona, London, Paris, Cannes, and more recently,Tahiti. His translation of these stimuli is predicated upon his courageous sense of colour which issimultaneously descriptive yet emotionally communicative - an unusual combination. Add to that aconvincing tonal register and we arrive at a conversation I had some years ago in Venice with myfriend Ken Howard who asked why there is such a hightened colour awareness among Scottishpainters. My highlighting the Franco - Scottish axis sprinkled over with some German ExpressionistSturm und Drang was perhaps inconclusive, but in Peter’s work we have the flower without the needto name the parts. Enjoy it - and acquire it - since I know of no painting that is not improved immeasurably by the judicious addition of a red dot.George Devlin,RSW, RGI, RBA, ROI, RWS, FRSA.

Graham’s vibrant new collection of work is a brilliant visual tonic. The sensation is a little like beinghugged by an army of spring flowers.

Graham trained at the Glasgow School of Art but worked for several years as a film editorfor the BBC before turning to painting full-time in the mid 1980s. A year-long residency in Singaporeas British Council artist in residence at The Nan Yang Academy of Fine Arts was followed by a seriesof high-profile exhibitions in London, Scotland and New York.

In 2000, he became a full member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, becoming vice-president from 2004-2005. Colourist art may have fallen out of fashion in contemporary art circles but,for Graham, colour is a phenomenon that regenerates and perpetuates ideas for the next generation.“I’d certainly describe myself as a modern colourist” he says. “ I’ve learnt a lot from the places wherethe Scottish Colourists travelled because they revealed these extraordinary places full of light..my ownstyle is more a combination of pure colour and fluid brushstroke detail, a more modern version of thecolourist approach.”Rachel Devine,The Sunday Times 2010.

© Copyright Whittington Fine Art 2011. This show catalogue or part thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without the written agreementof Whittington Fine Art.

Tahitian Pastoral Oil on Canvas - 54” x 51”

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La Montagne, Tahiti Oil on Canvas - 38” x 38”

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Sunday Market, Papeete Oil on Canvas - 36” x 36”

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Paysage Polynésien Oil on Canvas - 37” x 37”

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Looking out to Sea, Palm Beach Oil on Canvas - 36” x 36”

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Southern Sun Oil on Canvas - 36” x 36”

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Riviera Reflections Oil on Canvas - 36” x 36”

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Roses on a Blue Ground Oil on Canvas - 36” x 36”

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London Elegance Oil on Canvas - 36” x 36”

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Towards Mull Oil on Canvas - 26” x 26”

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White Sands, Iona Oil on Canvas - 24” x 24”

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Paris Parasols Oil on Canvas - 30” x 30”

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La Côte D’Azur Oil on Canvas - 37” x 37”

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Honfleur Yachts Oil on Canvas - 26” x 26”

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Place des Vosges Oil on Canvas - 26” x 26”

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Postcard from Antibes Oil on Canvas - 30” x 30”

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Table with Mixed Fruits Oil on Canvas - 25” x 26”

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Jardin de la Galette, Paris Oil on Canvas - 24” x 24”

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Le Café, St Tropez Oil on Canvas - 25” x 26”

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Sur Le Port, Villefranche Oil on Canvas - 30” x 24”

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Les Tuileries Oil on Canvas - 20” x 20”

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Café Terrace, Vence Oil on Canvas - 20” x 20”

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Still Life on a Red Ground Oil on Canvas - 20” x 20”

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Boulevard de la Plage, Le Touquet Oil on Canvas - 16” x 16”

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Cannes Oil on Canvas - 16” x 16”

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Coast near Cannes Oil on Canvas - 16” x 16”

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Carrousel de la Tour Eiffel Oil on Canvas - 16” x 16”

Yachts, St Tropez Oil on Canvas - 16” x 16”

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Iona Sailing Oil on Canvas - 14” x 14”

Dining at Claridges Oil on Canvas - 16” x 16”

Peter Graham ROI. b 1959

1976 - 80 Studied Glasgow School of Art1980 - 82 Studied film making with Michael Barratt , London1982 - 87 Film Editor BBC London, Credits include Panorama, Newsnight and Horizon1990 Artist in Residence Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore1994 - 96 Advisor, Visual Arts, Scottish Arts Council1995 - 96 Council Member, Cambridge Drawing Society1999 Winsor & Newton Award, Royal Institute of Oil Painters2000 Elected Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters2001 Cornelissen Award, Royal Institute of Oil Painters2002 Published 'An Introduction to Painting Still Life' (David & Charles)2004 Exhibited RI, ROI 2004/05 Vice President, ROI 2007 Exhibited RI, ROI, RSW, PAI. Elected Member Glasgow Art Club2008 Exhibited RSW, PAI. 2008 William and Mary Armour Award (PAI)2009 Exhibited RI, PAI. 2009 Paisley Arts Institute (PAI) Award 2010 Elected Artist Member of The Paisley Art Institute

Selected Exhibitor with:The Royal Society of Marine Artists The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in WatercoloursThe Royal Institute of Oil Painters Royal Scottish Academy Forbes Magazine Gallery, New York Heritage House, Bermuda Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow‘Pure Gold’ Federation of British Artists, ( FBA)Mall Galleries, London

Public and Private Collections include:The British Council; Scottish Provident,Edinburgh; Ernst & Young, Glasgow;The Nan Yang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore;Lady Graham , Edinburgh; Lady Nairn, Perth;Lord Max Rayne; Lord Morton of Shuna;The North London Hospice; The Western BathsClub, Glasgow; Kaye Adams; Robbie Coltrane;Peter Barkworth; Gaby Roslyn.

Peter Graham is one of Britain’s most gifted Modern Colourists. His work is often related to the ModernScottish School but Peter has a flamboyant style which is unique - careful detail combined with fluidbrushwork reminiscent of the liveliest of the Impressionists, creating vivid contrasts of pure colour, lineand tone.Since graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in 1980 he has maintained a preoccupation with lightand intense colour and has gained in the process a worldwide reputation for his highly distinctive style.Every year Peter spends the summer painting on the French Riviera; scintillating beach scenes and harbours are key subjects in his oeuvre. In 2010 he painted in Tahiti. He is also renowned for his equallyvibrant still lifes created in his Glasgow studio.Peter is a regular contributor to books and periodicals, including “The Artist” and “International ArtistMagazine.”

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