Background
Patrick Procktor was born on March 12, 1936 in Dublin, the younger son of an oil company accountant, but moved to London when his father died in 1940.
Patrick Procktor was born on March 12, 1936 in Dublin, the younger son of an oil company accountant, but moved to London when his father died in 1940.
From the age of 10, he attended Highgate School - where his teachers included landscape painter Kyffin Williams - intending to read classics at university. However, his mother's income was insufficient to fund his further education and after a period working with a north London builders' merchants 18-year-old Procktor was conscripted into the Royal Navy where, during his National Service, he learned to speak Russian.
He subsequently served as an interpreter, visiting Russia on several occasions with various delegations.
In 1958 Patrick entered the Slade, where he was influenced by William Coldstream, Keith Vaughan, William Townsend, Claude Rogers, Robert Medley and others, developing his painting style in the dark, figurative tradition then prevailing. After graduating from the Slade in 1962 he travelled to Italy and Greece, in the company of Michael Upton. Upon his return he produced a number of large images of figures in a landscape which formed the basis of his first exhibition at the Redfern Gallery the following year. All of the paintings sold prior to the opening. Shortly after this he moved into the flat in St Marylebone formerly occupied by William Coldstream. Patrick is still in residence to this day.
Lillies
Lion Rocks Garden, Soochow
Red Army Ensemble
Figures by the Sea II
Mathilde Verlaine in Bed
Seated Figures
Alex with a White Pouf
Mount Abu (Rowli Mountains, Rajastan) from the 'India , Mother' suite of 7 aquatints
A Group of Polish Pilots
Self Portrait in Fez
Gervaise
HRH Prince Charles (b.1948)
Back Bay in Bombay from the 'India, Mother' suite of 7 aquatints
Campanula
John in Wales
Cheese and Wine, Femme Fatale
Cataract, Aswan
Ossie, Gervase and Eric from 'Invitation to a Voyage' portfolio of 5 aquatints
Two Chinese Generals
Mirrors from 'Invitation to a Voyage' portfolio of 5 aquatints
Hangchow
Peter, Anguillara
Sick Child
Edward Jones, Chief Clerk DOE, Belize
L.H. & M.U. (Liza Heygate & Michael Upton)
Sadie and Prudence from 'Invitation to a Voyage' portfolio of 5 aquatints
Back of the Zoo
Beneath the Surface
Leaping Cataract, Victoria Falls
Departure from 'Invitation to a Voyage' portfolio of 5 aquatints
Areal View Marylenbone Gardens
Jimi Hendrix
Figures at Night
R. F. M. Harka Raj Rai, 10th Prime Minister's Official Representative: Gurkha in Belize
Dominic Prima
Corfu
Favourite's Courtyard
Myxomatosis (Self-Portrait in a Mirror)
Procktor was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1996.
Despite his homosexual leanings, in 1973 Procktor married a widow neighbour and restaurateur Kirsten Benson.