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Adam Birtwistle: Paintings : Grand Manner Portraits

Past exhibition
11 January - 3 March 2013 Piano Nobile
  • Summary
  • Works
  • Publications
Summary
Adam Birtwistle, Jarred Luxury, 2012
Adam Birtwistle, Jarred Luxury, 2012

Described as 'one of our most distinguished portrait painters in what is, presently, a Golden Age of Portraiture in Britain', Adam Birtwistle is known for his deeply revealing portraits. Instead of the flattering conventions of eighteenth century Grand Manner portraiture, Birtwistle diminishes the grandeur and deflates the ego of everyone who sits for him. "There are many ways of revealing the real person," says Birtwistle, "I set out to make them feel uncomfortable by ordering them around. Then I confuse them. I tell them it's all going to be very easy, then I make them sit down, tell them not to move and hold their heads in a fixed position for a very long time. I ask them, what's the worst thing you have ever done? Quite soon they're looking shaky, just as I want them."

 

Born in 1959, Adam Birtwistle is the son of the composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle. Two paintings by Birtwistle - a portrait of his father, and one of Elvis Costello (Declan McManus), belong to the National Portrait Gallery's Collection. In 2000, he was invited to paint portraits of six composers, including Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Janacˇk, Britten and again his father, Sir Harrison, whose operas were featured during the 2001 Glyndebourne Festival. He has subsequently painted portraits of artists David Hockney, Craigie Aitchison and Peter Blake.

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Works
  • Adam Birtwistle, Jarred Luxury II, 2012
    Adam Birtwistle, Jarred Luxury II, 2012
  • Adam Birtwistle, Portrait of Craigie Aitchison, 2002
    Adam Birtwistle, Portrait of Craigie Aitchison, 2002
  • Adam Birtwistle, Victoria, 2012
    Adam Birtwistle, Victoria, 2012
  • Adam Birtwistle, Tutu, 2007
    Adam Birtwistle, Tutu, 2007
  • Adam Birtwistle, Mandela, 2008
    Adam Birtwistle, Mandela, 2008
  • Adam Birtwistle, F. W. de Klerk, 2008
    Adam Birtwistle, F. W. de Klerk, 2008
  • Adam Birtwistle, Hephaestus, 2010
    Adam Birtwistle, Hephaestus, 2010
  • Adam Birtwistle, Marcus Garvey, 2007
    Adam Birtwistle, Marcus Garvey, 2007
  • Adam Birtwistle, Kaiser Wilhem, 2010
    Adam Birtwistle, Kaiser Wilhem, 2010
  • Adam Birtwistle, Tuxedo Marvel, 2012
    Adam Birtwistle, Tuxedo Marvel, 2012
  • Adam Birtwistle, Benjamin Britten, 2001
    Adam Birtwistle, Benjamin Britten, 2001
  • Adam Birtwistle, Jarred Luxury I, 2012
    Adam Birtwistle, Jarred Luxury I, 2012
Publications
  • Adam Birtwistle

    Adam Birtwistle

    Godfrey Barker, 2006
    Paperback 57 pages
    Publisher: Piano Nobile Publishings
    ISBN: 1-901192-24-5
    Dimensions: 25 x 31 x 1 cm
    Read more
  • Adam Birtwistle

    Adam Birtwistle

    Admirable Twist Charles Suamarez Smith and Nick Ross, 2008
    Sewn paperback with dust jacket 32 pages
    Publisher: Robert Travers Works of Art Ltd
    ISBN: 1901192288
    Dimensions: 22.2 x 29 x 0.6 cm
    Read more

Related artist

  • Adam Birtwistle

    Adam Birtwistle

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