Anthony Christian

Dali Self - Portrait

At only 10 years of age, Anthony Christian was granted the privilege of studying the techniques of the Old Masters at the National Gallery in London and the accolade of publicity he received during this period, announced him to the world as a child prodigy. Throughout his time at the National Gallery and for a further seven years Anthony studied at length the works of Rubens and Rembrandt as well as other Old Masters. Although students and professional Artists are able to utilise this method of learning, none are allowed to do so under the age of eighteen and Anthony's opportunity has remained unique to this day. In his earlier days Anthony earned his living as a Portrait Artist and painted many of the world's rich and famous, including Lord Mountbatten, Baroness Olympia de Rothschild, Baroness Fiona Thyssen, Count Guido di Carpegna, Lord Lichfield, Blake Edwards, Julie Christie and Terence Stamp.His work now features in some of the most prominent private art collections in the world. Collections such as Gore Vidal, Baroness Marie-Helene de Rothschild, Viscountess de Ribes, Mrs J Heinz, Bill Blass, HM Queen Elizabeth II, Mrs. James Lipton and Herbie Hancock. As for his painting and drawing, his style most resembles the techniques of Leonardo da Vinci and he has dedicated his life to the discovery of all means possible, to paint the most beautiful works of art ever. So why have so few people heard of him? This is the question often asked by people on first confronting his work. The answer is very simple, he chooses to live a bohemian existence, living as a virtual recluse and making recognition extremely difficult. Until recently, he was living on one of the most beautiful properties in the world, in Southern India, surrounded by the various collections he has made from brass to glass, baskets to African gourds, textiles to costumes and an amazing library covering virtually every Artist and Museum in the world. He is a true eccentric.

The Battle Scene

The Battle Scene

Outside the National Gallery, London 1955
aged 10 yrs

"A manner of studying Art, used by the greatest artists from time immemorial, is copying from generations gone before. As a very young child I copied from books on the Old Masters, but when I discovered one could actually paint sitting in front of the originals, well, the idea was too much to resist, and although I discovered that the rules disallowed anyone from doing this under the age of eighteen, a combination of my precocious gift, an extremely determined character, and the open mind of Sir Philip Hendys, managed to break the rules and I copied in the National Gallery from the age of ten."

"Like most very young boys, I loved battles, and so was soon struck by the "Cavalry Battle" of Phillip Wouwermans, a seventeenth century Dutch painter, a minor Master known for always putting a horse in the middle of his compositions. He painted small works, one or two of which are in most museums the world over, but they are so unremarkable few people note this artist's name. However, he did one large work, his chez d'oeuvre which was this one in the National Gallery, which I immediately coveted, so decided to paint. Over six years, I made three attempts to copy this masterpiece, each one lasting about two years. The final copy, pretty much the same size as the original, took two years to complete. It is six feet by four foot six inches. As I was so young, I was also relatively small, and had to stand on a wooden box to reach the top of the canvas. I was given priceless information - my total education in fact - by sympathetic fellow copyists, restorers, and a brilliant and extremely knowledgeable attendant in the Gallery. It was thanks to them, particularly the attendant, that I did finally complete a reasonable copy. Although I gave it to my first wife as a parting gift in 1970, in a marvellously magnanimous gesture, she returned it to me nineteen years later, and I must say I enjoy its presence to this day. My extreme youth attracted the Press while I was at the National Gallery, and a barrage of publicity continued for about three years, then started up again when I completed the work."

"So many stories spring from my having spent those six years at the National Gallery from the age of ten, and I have found so many people who are fascinated by it all, I have written down the whole story in every detail, including the very funny ones." All of this will be revealed in Anthony Christian's biography.

Mr Frank is 300 yrs old

About The Mannequins

Mr Frank Listening to Debussy

Anthony found his first mannequin (300 yrs old) in a shop in Paris in 1975 and immediately christened him Mr Frank as he had cost so many Francs! He took him back to London and created the first series of white mannequin paintings in June 1976. Anthony moved to Italy at the end of 1976 and the next year created a second mannequin series, this time in red. In the middle of 1977, on a visit to Paris, he found Mrs Frank (350 yrs old) in the same shop that he had found Mr Frank. At the end of 1977 Anthony moved to Paris and painted Mr and Mrs Frank together for the first time in June 1978. The painting was called Pieta. The Love and Marriage series followed in 1985 when he was living in New York and, due to huge demand, Anthony created a second white mannequin series in 1986/87. He hasn't painted them since - until now - and, as you can see from the video entitled Creation of a Mannequin, the inspiration is flowing once again!

The Mannequin & The Apple

Embracing Mannequins

Embracing Mannequins
43" x 33"

New Mannequin Paintings

The Letter 45" x 45"

Recently I asked Anthony if he would create a new series of mannequin paintings. He hadn't painted them for years, despite the fact that there has been a constant demand for them, but he kindly agreed to do it and set to work immediately. The first painting completed is the beautiful painting above called The Letter. To see more in the series, click on the slideshow at the top of this page.

"I first met Anthony Christian in 1964..." by Reggie Oliver

I first met Anthony Christian in 1964 when I was twelve and he was nineteen. He had got to know my parents when he painted a portrait of a great friend of theirs. That portrait, despite its technical brilliance, was not universally popular because Anthony had revealed an inner sadness in the subject which many of his friends - though not my parents - were unwilling to acknowledge. He went on to paint and draw both my parents and myself and became a good friend, never for a moment talking down to the very naive teenager that I was. He influenced me profoundly because he was the first person whom I met, perhaps the only person I have known, who was and remains one hundred percent artist. That is to say: every fibre and impulse of his being is geared towards the creation of beautiful and memorable things. This accounts for the outstanding integrity and originality of his work; it also accounts for the extraordinary roller coaster of his career. He has never once pandered to fashion when his outstanding technical gifts alone could so easily have earned him golden rewards. That is why his work, though it has developed and evolved, remains of a piece and demonstrates a unique vision: sensual and yet austerely beautiful, passionate yet refined, witty and playful too. At the heart of his work, I believe, are his incomparable gifts as a draughtsman, evident from his earliest pieces, such as the Battle Scene, to his most recent masterpiece “The Crucifixion of the Female Principle.” REGGIE OLIVER http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Oliver

Drawing the Trees at Hitcham House

The Garden at Hitcham House

30" x 40"

Anthony and his wife, Marian, came to stay with us a few weeks ago and Anthony was so inspired by the trees surrounding the house that he felt compelled to draw them. This is the beautiful drawing.

Gamba

Gamba

62" x 39"

Anthony Christian with Gamba , Tuscany 1977

Gamba was an old retired cobbler who lived in a Tuscan village not far from the old mill (Molino) where Anthony lived in 1977. Of all the male faces he had seen until then, Gamba fascinated and inspired Anthony the most, and he made numerous drawings and paintings of him. Many years before, Anthony had invented a technique of tinting paper, but now he wished to experiment with pastel and with scale, drawing full length and life size for the first time. He had a red cape which was precious to him for the quality of its drapery and because red is his favourite colour. Dressing Gamba in the cape, Anthony made three drawings of him, two full face and a profile, but although each of these drawings was very successful, none of them gave the artist the satisfaction he craved. They did not express the strong emotions he felt before the extraordinary beauty and depth reflected in this man's face, which seemed to represent or suggest something beyond the man himself. This kind of 'otherworldly beauty' is a phenomenon Anthony has come across several times now, but with Gamba he was encountering it for the first time.

Almost desperate to see if he could transfer onto paper these emotions that Gamba inspired , Anthony searched around for more paper, but none could be found (he had used up all his stock).....until his eye was caught by the large piece he had used for over twenty years, to tint thousands of sheets of paper on. It fascinated him for its indefinable colour and odd markings, born of so many years of use. All this inspired the artist further as he set to work. Anthony was so fulfilled by this work, it made him realize that there was nothing left in drawing for him but to experiment, and he was too taken up with his passion for painting to spend any time on anything else. For several years after creating this work, he didn't draw at all. He had succeeded in creating an image that moves beyond the man himself; some have the impression of a Tibetan priest, others see an ancient nobleman from another time, but all who see the drawing feel its spirituality and powerful mysticism.

This old and tattered piece of paper has caused a sensation wherever it has been shown, no less in Asia than in New York, where Anthony was invited by the director of the Academy of Drawing to exhibit it and to give a talk and demonstration of his drawing. At that time, however, he was recuperating from hepatitis and the most he was able to do was to loan the drawing to the Academy for a few days. It is now one of the prized works in The Ichor (ee:kor ) Collection.