§ MAURICE COCKRILL R.A., F.B.A. (BRITISH 1936-2013) UNTITLED, 1999 SIgned and dated 1999 verso, oil on canvas

(39.5cm x 59.5cm (15.5in x 23.5in))

Footnote: Note: Cockrill, a second-generation Modern British artist, is primarily associated with the Liverpool School. It was here that he made his reputation as a teacher and artist, and was a regular exhibitor at the Walker Art Gallery. After a relocation to London in the early 1980s, he gradually moved towards a style which has been referred to as Romantic Expressionism. The move in 1982 was a bold one. He took over Bridget Riley’s old studio in Berry Street, Clerkenwell, where Paula Rego was a neighbour and ally. Appreciated on the continent where he regularly exhibited in cities including Paris and Dusseldorf, his evolving style and shyness of the limelight meant he never quite rose to the level of prominence he deserved on British soil. He was recognised and appreciated amongst his peers, however, and is often referred to as “a painter’s painter”. Elected to the Royal Academy in 1999, Cockrill was made keeper of the Royal Academy Schools in 2004. His final years saw a return to the North Welsh countryside of his childhood, and his later work is inspired by the landscape there. His work demonstrates a high degree of technical skill and versatility, and veers from challenging to lyrically beautiful.