Basil Beattie RA (b. 1935)
Basil Beattie studied at West Hartlepool College of Art (1950-55) and the Royal Academy Schools (1957–61). He taught at Goldsmith’s College in the 1980s and 90s.
He is best known for his evocative abstract paintings, featuring architectural motifs such as stairs, tunnels and other apertures which lend psychological and physical complexity to his work. Typically he employs a muted palate of earthy colours and uses expressive, gestural brushstrokes. He is also a printmaker.
Beattie has twice been shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize and once for the Charles Wollaston Award. He was recently given a dedicated gallery at Tate Britain (2007).
Profile
Born: 1935 in West Hartlepool, Cleveland, England, United Kingdom
Nationality: British
RA Schools student from 1957 to 1961
Elected RA: 2 June 2006
Elected Senior RA: 1 October 2010
Gender: Male
Preferred media: Painting and Printmaking
Works by Basil Beattie in the RA Collection
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Works associated with Basil Beattie in the RA Collection
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There is a sensual quality about paintings – there are tender moments in them and there are aggressive moments... when I put the brush down and look at the painting, there are all these different possibilities.
Basil Beattie RA
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Selected CV
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Recent solo exhibitions
2013 Hilton Fine Art, Bath
2011–2012 James Hyman Fine Art, London
2010 Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal
2009 Purdy Hicks, London
2008 Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2007 Tate Britain, London
2002 Above and Below, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London
2001 Advanced Gallery, London
Curwen Gallery, London
2000 Storey Gallery, Lancaster -
Selected collections
Arts Council Collection
Birmingham City Art Gallery
Contemporary Art Society
Government Art Collection
Saatchi Collection
Swindon Museum and Art Gallery
Tate Gallery
Whitworth Art Gallery
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Related articles
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RA Exhibitions
> 6 years ago
“Abstract Expressionism still makes me breathe deep”
How do painters from different generations see Abstract Expressionism today? Two RA Schools alumni, Basil Beattie RA and Aimée Parrott, met in the Academy’s show to discuss the movement’s enduring influence.
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Our Collection
7 years ago
Object of the month: February 2016
“My paintings are abstract to me.” Basil Beattie RA’s painting suggests a narrative of ascent, but leads nowhere.
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Inside the Academy
< 9 years ago
How do Academicians get elected?
Recent years have seen a host of new innovations here at the RA, but the election process for new Academicians has hardly changed in almost 250 years. Here is how it all works.
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RA Recommends
9 years ago
Warhol, Burroughs and Lynch, Jeremy Deller and Basil Beattie RA
‘Hiker Meat’, Venice in Walthamstow and collage at the Whitechapel: everything worth seeing this week.
