Arnold van Praag at 90
Arnold van Praag, born in 1926, trained at the Slade between 1953 and 1957, his first solo exhibition (in 1965) selling out before it opened. Despite the auspiciousness of this early success, van Praag chose to earn his living as a teacher rather than as an artist. He initially became a Lecturer in Painting at Hertfordshire College of Art and Design, then subsequently the Head of Painting. In 1975, he became Visiting Tutor in painting at Camberwell School of Arts, a post he held until 1991, when he retired to work full time in his studio.
This exhibition focuses on these later paintings, by an artist ripe for re-discovery and re-assessment, a painter of real probity and skill with something serious to say. The results are vibrant oil paintings on board, bold, gestural explorations of everyday life, Biblical subjects, and vivid depictions of tradesmen such as fisherman and butchers.
