Date of Birth: 13 October 1915, † 1 September 2003
Place: Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, UK
Profession: Artist
click on the image to view the larger version
Sir Terry Frost first began to paint in a POW camp after being taken prisoner during the invasion of Crete in 1941. He decided that he wanted to become a painter at the end of the war and upon eturning to England, he received an ex-serviceman's grant and attended Camberwell School of Art, London from 1947 to 1950. He also attended the St Ives School of Art and in 1951 worked as an assistant to sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth. He went on to teach at the Bath Academy of Art at Corsham Court from 1952, and was the Gregory Fellow at Leeds University 1954 to 1956, teaching at Leeds School of Art from 1956 to 1957.
During his time as a teacher, Sir Terry Frost moved into abstraction and started with collages and constructions. One-man shows in London and New York followed in the late fifties and early sixties. He was made Artist in Residence at the Fine Art Department of Newcastle University in 1964, became a full time lecturer at the Department of Fine Art, Reading University 1965, and went on to become Professor of Painting at the University of Reading from 1977 to 1981.
Further solo exhibitions include the ICA, London (1971) and the Serpentine Gallery, London (1976) organised by the Arts Council and South West Arts, touring to Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds, Chester, Birmingham and Plymouth. A retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Mayor Gallery, London in 1990 and in 2000 a major retrospective, 'Terry Frost: Six Decades', was held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Frost has also participated in many group shows since 1953, and his work is held in many corporate and private collections throughout the world.
Terry Frost was elected Royal Academician 1992 and received a knighthood in 1998. He lives and works in Newlyn, Cornwall. His recent solo exhibitions include work shown at Mead Gallery, University of Warwick (2001) and Royal Academy of Arts, Sackler Galleries, London (2000). Sir Terry has work in the following public collections: British Museum, London; Tate Gallery, London; National Gallery of Canada; National Gallery of New South Wales, Australia; Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the European Commission Conference Centre, Brussels.
Knighted in 1998, he lived in Newlyn in Cornwall, and had been working almost until the end of his life aged 87. He married Kathleen Clarke in 1945. They had five sons and one daughter; two of his sons, Anthony and Luke also became artists. A third, Stephen is a well known comedian and actor who has appeared many times in film and on television.
A popular contributor to the RWA during his decade of membership, Sir Terry Frost passed away in September of 2003.
Click to return to members list