Patrick Procktor was born in Dublin in 1936, but moved to London with his mother and elder brother in 1940 following the death of his father. He was conscripted as a Russian–language student by the Royal Navy in 1954, and acted as a translator for the British Council on several occasions. After leaving the navy in 1956, Procktor began his studies at the Slade School of Fine Art in 1958 and graduated in 1962.
Procktor was foremost a painter and while his work is informed by both Realism and Abstraction, he never chose to align himself completely with either. Procktor travelled extensively, and it was on a trip to the United States in 1965 that he completed the prints from Gemini Ltd that are featured in the National Gallery’s collection.
Emilie Owens
1936
Born Dublin, Ireland
1954-56
Serves in Royal Navy where he learns Russian, he later works as a Russian interpreter for the British Council
1958-62
Studies at Slade School of Art, London under William Coldstream Travels to Italy and Greece
1963
Mounts first solo exhibition, Redfern Gallery, London, the beginning of a long association with the Gallery
1964
Included in exhibition, New Generation, Whitechapel Gallery, London
1965
Travels to United States with David Hockney, Norman Stevens, and Colin Self Completes edition of Crowd in grass, Seated Crowd at Gemini Ltd, Los Angeles
1970
Travels to India and Nepal
1972
Solo exhibition, Galleria del Cavallino, Venice, Italy
1974
Travels to South Africa
1976
Solo exhibition, Galerie Biedermann, Munich, GermanyCompletes suite of aquatints and etchings for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge which was published as a book by Editions Alecto and The Redern Gallery in 1978; completes record slip for Elton John’s Blue moves
1980
Travels to China
1983
Makes set designs for Turandot at the Royal Opera House, London; invited by the Imperial War Museum to paint soldiers at Belize, Central America
1984
Travels to Egypt
1985
Solo exhibition, Patrick Procktor: Prints 1959-1985, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, West Midlands
1987
Solo exhibition, Patrick Procktor: still life and portrait, Marina Henderson Gallery, London; included in exhibitions, IAM Galeria, Lisbon, Portugal; Le Cadre Gallery, Hong Kong
1988
Makes documentary, My Britain, produced by Liam White
1989
Included in travelling exhibition, organised by Welsh Arts Council Tour of Great Britain Receives Watercolour Foundation Award, Royal Academy of Arts
1991
Wins The Singer & Friedlander Sunday Times Watercolour Competition and again in 1992 Publishes autobiography, Self Portrait, (London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson)
1992
Included in Tokyo Art Fair, JapanTravels to South East Asia
1994
Solo exhibition, Recent paintings and drawings and paintings from the 1960s to 1980s, Redfern Gallery, London Included in exhibition, CCA Galleries, Cambridge
1996
Solo exhibition, A 60th Birthday Tribute to Patrick Procktor, Redfern Gallery, London
1997
Solo exhibition, Patrick Procktor: four decades of printmaking, Scolar Fine Art, London
2003
Patrick Procktor died in London, England
Barbara Delano © Tyler Graphics Ltd., revised Kate Buckingham, 2007
This chronology provides an overview of selected biographical information, major solo and group exhibitions held within the artist's own lifetime.
