Background
Albert Irvin was born on August 21, 1922, in London, United Kingdom. He was the son of Albert Irvin, a shopkeeper, and his wife, Nina. Albert and his brother grew up in North London.
London, United Kingdom
Albert Irvin studied at Goldsmiths College, University of London from 1946 - 1950, then in 1962 he was appointed a teacher there for over twenty years.
Clifton, Bristol, England
In 1999 Albert Irvin was elected honorary member of the Royal West of England Academy.
Albert Irvin's parents
Albert Irvin was born on August 21, 1922, in London, United Kingdom. He was the son of Albert Irvin, a shopkeeper, and his wife, Nina. Albert and his brother grew up in North London.
Albert Irvin studied at the Northampton School of Art between 1940 and 1941, before being conscripted into the Royal Air Force as a navigator. When the war was over, he resumed his course at Goldsmiths College from 1946 to 1950.
Throughout the 1950s Irvin developed his unique style of literal meaning through his painting. In his early career he battled with the two alternatives of abstraction and figuration. It was not until the mid-1950s that Irvin finally moved away from relying on figures and social realism in his work and embraced an approach closer to metaphor and the abstract.
Irvin’s reputation began to swell in the art world as his paintings grew in merit, maturity of style, and value. He was invited to display his work at more and more exhibitions in both Britain and abroad. A new freedom to experiment also found its way into over his work as he ‘played’ with canvas size, colour, structure, shape, and composition. Irvin was appointed a teacher at Goldsmiths in 1962 remaining there for over twenty years.
Later the artist began to experiment with the medium of his art. He changed from oil to acrylic in the early 1970s and had a short-lived foray into lithography in 1975. He then began a screenprinting career in 1980 with Advanced Graphics London. The collaborative approach of screenprinting, although a new and very different outlet from painting, still allowed Irvin to display many of his characteristic traits as an artist. He would quickly affirm his reputation as one of Britain’s foremost printmakers.
In August 1947, Albert Irvin was married to Beatrice Olive Nicolson. They had two daughters.