(1932 - 2019)
Graham Arnold was born in Sydenham, south London and as a child attended weekend classes at Hornsey School of Art. In 1944-47 he studied at Beckenham Technical College, and later at Beckenham Art School (1947-52) where he was awarded the David Murray Landscape Prize from the Royal Academy Schools. During the 1950s he travelled extensively in Europe and Asia; and on his return to England, he studied at the Royal College of Art from 1955-58. Arnold is best known as one of ‘The Brotherhood of Ruralists’, an artistic group that he set up with six other artists in 1971. They defined themselves as urban citizens who moved to the West Country to embrace self-sufficiency and country life. The Brotherhood were highly influenced by the figurative and spiritual painting of Stanley Spencer, and Arnold himself also cited the early Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca as a seminal influence. In 1992 a major retrospective of over 120 of his paintings, drawings and constructions was held in Powys, Wales.
