Christian Furr

Christian Furr (born 1966, Heswall, Wirral, England)^[1] is an acclaimed English painter. In 1995 he was commissioned to officially paint Queen Elizabeth II making him the youngest artist to date to have officially painted the Queen.

Education

Furr was educated at Ladymount Primary School, Heswall and St Anselm's College, Birkenhead. He later did a foundation course at Wirral Metropolitan College and a Fine Art degree at De Montfort University.

Career

In 1995, at the age of 28, he was commissioned by the Royal Overseas League to officially paint Queen Elizabeth II. HRH Queen Elizabeth II chose Furr from a number of artists and the portrait was painted at Buckingham Palace. The portrait now hangs on permanent display at the Royal Overseas League headquarters in London and is viewable by the public.

He recently completed a wedding portrait of Thomas and Melissa van Straubenzee (née Lady Melissa Percy)^[2][3]

In November 2012, Furr curated the art exhibition "Liverpool Love" at the new Museum of Liverpool in aid of Claire House Hospice. The exhibition included works by Yoko Ono, Sir Peter Blake David Mach and many respected artists from the art and music scene. In June 2011, Furr was commissioned to paint Blenheim Palace during GE Triathlon. The painting was bought by Jamie Blandford for public display at the Palace in 2014 when it was auctioned to raise funds for the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust by GE. In 2008, he was commissioned to paint Sultan, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. In 2002, Furr painted Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor for Westminster Cathedral along with Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue and Bishop George Stack.

In 2005, Britvic commissioned Furr to create a painting marking 70 years of Robinsons (drink) the Wimbledon Championships on Centre Court. The giant canvas featuring Tim Henman and Fred Perry^[4] was completed by over one thousand people at Wimbledon. The original hangs at britvic headquarters, UK.

He has appeared on television teaching Jade Goody how to paint on Channel 4's Richard & Judy and appearing in ITV daytime art series A Brush with Fame, presenting alongside Carol Smillie and art critic David Lee.

His work has been displayed in the Saatchi Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Society of Portrait Painters and The Royal Watercolour Society. He is a member of Chelsea Arts Club, Hotel Cafe Royal, Groucho Club, Eccentric Club and the former Colony Room Soho. Furr's other portrait subjects include: Dita Von Teese, Tim Henman, Esme Bianco, Gered Mankowitz, and Father Michael Seed. Furr's book The Lost Art was published in May 2008.

In 2013 Furr had a show of neon artworks created with the late Chris Bracey entitled 'The Staying Alive Neon Collection'. The show received critical acclaim in the British press including The Independent.

In 2013 Furr was appointed to the board of the British Inspiration Awards where he nominated Peter Blake (artist) for a special recognition award in his 80th year.^[5] Furr is on council at the Chelsea Arts Club In 2014 he was appointed to the Artists General Benevolent Institiution at the Royal Academy. 'AGBI' is the oldest charity in Great Britain and was founded by JMW Turner In 2015 he became a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts His work features in prominent collections globally including Hotel Café Royal where he is also on committee and the Dorchester Collection.

Award

Furr was awarded the Association of Colleges Gold Award (2004)^[6] at the House of Commons given to further education alumni who have gone on to achieve excellence in their chosen field.

References

External links

• Official website
• Huffington Post Interview with Furr from 2013
• Critical Essay on the Artwork of Christian Furr by Italian writer -Maria Pia Cappello
• Official website for Liverpool Love
• Footage of Furr painting Blenheim Palace realtime
• Footage of Furr teaching Jade Goody