David Tindle was born in Huddersfield. He studied at Coventry School of Art and later taught at Hornsey School of Art, and the Byam Shaw School of Painting. During 1972 –1983, he was Visiting Tutor at the Royal College of Art (RCA). He was later made a Fellow of the RCA in 1981 and Honorary Fellow in 1984.
In the 1980s, Tindle was elected as a Royal Academician and took up the position of Ruskin Master of Drawing and Fellow of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford (1985–1987). He has exhibited his work regularly in London, and in numerous group exhibitions abroad including shows in Paris and Montreal. He has produced several portrait commissions, most notably of Dirk Bogarde (1986) and of Lord Sainsbury (1990). His work is represented in many public collections most notably Tate, London; National Portrait Gallery, London; Bradford City Art Gallery; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; and Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester. Tindle lives and works in Lucca, Italy.
