Anthony Russell (born 1961) is a British art historian, social commentator and artist.
He is the son of the artist Rodney F Russell and his third wife, the Argentine Doreen Gildea-Keereweer, attending Bryanston School and read art history at Oxford Brookes, before joining Lawrence Fine Art in the West Country as an auctioneer. In London he ran William Tillman Ltd in St James's Street[1] and spent six years as a consultant[2] with Luke Hughes, advising the Church of England on interior furnishing, becoming an authority on modern church seating.[3]
Russell is well known as a non-violence activist,[4] working in conjunction with the Burma Campaign UK, Rights and Humanity[5] and other organisations[6] and as the author of 'Evolving the Spirit - From Democracy to Peace'.[7][8] His latest exhibition of paintings was at the Guggleton Gallery in Dorset.[9]
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Anthony Chandos Russell was born on 28 February 1961 in Guildford Surrey, the forth child of the artist & poet Rodney Fryer Russell and Doreen Gildea-Keereweer. Rodney was a second cousin[10] of Dame Sybil Thorndike[11] (who wrote the forward for his book of poems) and the grandson of the eminent dental surgeon Samuel Hutchinson. He is also the direct descendent of the noted West Country smugger Isaac Gulliver.[12] Doreen, whom he met on the island of Mallorca, came from a prominent Argentine family. Her aunt Ethel Cherry was asked by Eva Perón to translate her book 'My Mission in Life'[13] and her great aunt[14] was the sister-in-law of President José Félix Uriburu, responsible for instigating the 'Infamous Decade' that ended Argentine democracy. Her great great uncle[15] Sir James Gildea, founded SSAFA, an ancestor she is reputed to share with John Lennon.[16] However, after five years the marriage broke down and Russell was brought up predominantly by his father's forth wife, the artist Pamela (née Till). Pamela was herself the granddaughter[17] of the composer August Chevalier (brother of the actor Albert Chevalier) and her uncle was the Maltese prince, Eugene Lavalette Pariseau. A prominent catholic, she studied painting under Pietro Annigoni in Florence and was for a while National Link for the co-workers of Mother Teresa.
Head Boy of his Dorset preparatory school (Motcombe Grange) Anthony Russell won a travel scholarship at Bryanston School and rowed for the school's 1st VIII. He grew up at Manston House in Dorset with his father (his forth wife Pamela)[18] and three children from Rodney's second marriage to Elizabeth Shettle; Virginia (who married the financier and church commissioner Gavin Oldham and who's daughter is the Shakespearian actress Marianne Oldham[19]; James (who became a devotee of Krishna and an original disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada), married Shyam Scheuch (the granddaughter of King Mohammed V of Morocco) and lives in Florida and David (a renowned drugs counselor, who died of an opportunistic infection in 1997).
Founder and chairman of PASAS, a West Country anti-traffic campaign, run with Oliver Letwin MP. Trustee of the Summer Music Society of Dorset, bringing world-class musicians to Dorset. Founder and managing director of 'Travel by Design',[20] providing privileged access to fine country houses to help support them. In 2007, he created 'The Chandos',[21] committed to 'cooperation, understanding and peace' through the arts. Russell spent several years leading American university students on bespoke tours of Europe and now lectures for NADFAS[22] on a regular basis.[23] In 2010, he wrote the chapter 'The Appropriate Alternative to Fixed Seating' for The Ecclesiological Society's publication on church seating ('Pew, Bench and Chairs')[24] The British Museum employs Russell to host outreach events[25] and visiting lecturers and his own lecture program includes presentations to the Church of England,[26] architects, national societies, schools[27] and charities. He has traveled much of the world undertaking research, which included voluntary work in Zimbabwe (where he interviewed Didymus Mutasa) and Argentina. In Australia, Russell was asked to research scuba diving for the book 'The Ultimate Australian Adventure Guide' (1995).[28] He has published articles on architecture and spirituality and is a leading advocate of the non-violence movement. He is the author of 'Evolving the Spirit - From Democracy to Peace',[29] with contributions from the likes of the BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson, the conservationist Chris Darwin and the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague. He is a passionate peace and human-rights activist and supporter of racial and sexual equality.
Russell has worked voluntarily on various causes[30], including a traffic calming scheme and a campaign to bring Homeshare to Dorset with Oliver Letwin MP[31]. He has been involved with the Burma Campaign UK promoting awareness of Burma's human rights. He is a staunch advocate of non-violence and an anti-war campaigner. As a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, he promotes an anti-imperialist approach, where he sees the West as consistently paying only lip service to democratic principles. He believes that only strengthened international law, in the form of the UN, ICC and the IMF, can bring lasting peace in the face of continued 'vigilante' imposition by powerful countries, in the traditional 'imperialist' mode[32]. All the great faiths of the world he argues, share a 'golden threat' of truth, which is all that really matters, as the rest in "mere politics". In 'Evolving the Spirit', he argues that peace in the world comes from international cooperation on one level but just as importantly, from each of us as individuals. His predominant belief is that change from within individuals, encouraged by a disciplined life, fosters a ripple effect to others. This is achieved by assuming the "dignity of the mature"; "acting not reacting"; having no enemies and not judging others or taking revenge. Where one can change their position the theory goes, none around can maintain an unaltered position. A life-long supporter of the environmental movement (claiming to have been recycling before Prince Charles), he is not otherwise inclined towards party politics. He was elected (2010), Tree Officer for the Brockley Society,[33] Likewise, he considers himself spiritual without membership to a particular faith. While critical of established hierarchies and institutional corruption, he is not anti monarchical as such, believing a constitutional monarchy to be a relatively evolved political development. From his work with 'The Chandos', he aims to encourage the "culture of peace" through collaboration with the many non-violent organisations, to foster what he terms a "collective momentum".[34]
Russell lives with his long-time partner in London (Brockley) and Dorset and travels extensively.
Books and articles;
Lectures;
Further information; www.thechandos.com