Barrington Lionel "Barry" Driscoll (15 December 1926 – 30 April 2006) was a British painter, wildlife artist and sculptor. Starting as a book illustrator, he specialized in animal subjects and established an international reputation as a wildlife artist.
In 1960 Driscoll painted three large murals in the London Zoo. A year later he illustrated the inaugural brochure for the World Wildlife Fund. By the mid-1960s Barry's work was appearing regularly in the national press, and he had his own Sunday Express wildlife column. In 1970 Time-Life commissioned him to do a series of paintings of fauna in Arizona.
Born in Camberwell, Driscoll was one of four sons of a printer on the Daily Express. During World War II his family moved to Shropshire, where, truant from school, the young Driscoll roamed the countryside and began making sketches from nature. He was a keen reader, and in particular cherished Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne.
Driscoll was conscripted into the army, and was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps in 1947. He served as a subaltern in India, where he "lost" the convoy of which he was in charge, and was severely reprimanded. He later served in the Palestine Mandate, Egypt, and Northern Ireland. In 1948 he enrolled at St Martin's School of Art on the British equivalent of the GI Bill. After he graduated from St Martin's with a national diploma in design, he won a place at the Royal College of Art.
He married Kiffi Bowerley, a fellow St Martin's student, in 1951; they had three children (one of whom, Guy, died in 1996). They divorced in 1979.
He launched himself on a career as an illustrator, which stretched on into the 1970s and included many national press campaigns; authors he collaborated included the famous naturalist Gerald Durrell and the Hans Christian Andersen AwardeeRené Guillot. By 1982 he became a sculptor, enjoying the technique of working in a three-dimensional medium. He declared that sculpture was easy when compared with painting.
He made many trips to Italy to oversee his sculptures, forged by the Mariani foundry at Pietrasanta. His son, Falcon, married an Italian woman, Sabina Coppola, in 2001, further copper-fastening Barry Driscoll's love of Italy.
Exhibitionsedit
Driscoll was under less pressure to exhibit than many other artists. He did show with the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA), of which he was a member, and with the Phoenix Gallery in Lavenham, Suffolk, although he was not represented by any major commercial gallery. In 2002, he was the principal sculptor in a wildlife show of two- and three-dimensional works which originated at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Antica e Moderna in Turin, Italy. It travelled then to Barcelona, then back to the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) in England.
Deathedit
He died of cancer, aged 79, and was survived by his former wife, Kiffi; his children, Pippa and Falcon, and by Leila Kooros, Driscoll's later partner in life.
Bibliographyedit
An incomplete list of his important illustrations include the books:
barry, driscoll, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2009, learn, when, remov. This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Barry Driscoll news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Barrington Lionel Barry Driscoll 15 December 1926 30 April 2006 was a British painter wildlife artist and sculptor Starting as a book illustrator he specialized in animal subjects and established an international reputation as a wildlife artist In 1960 Driscoll painted three large murals in the London Zoo A year later he illustrated the inaugural brochure for the World Wildlife Fund By the mid 1960s Barry s work was appearing regularly in the national press and he had his own Sunday Express wildlife column In 1970 Time Life commissioned him to do a series of paintings of fauna in Arizona Contents 1 Early years 2 Exhibitions 3 Death 4 Bibliography 5 External linksEarly years editBorn in Camberwell Driscoll was one of four sons of a printer on the Daily Express During World War II his family moved to Shropshire where truant from school the young Driscoll roamed the countryside and began making sketches from nature He was a keen reader and in particular cherished Gilbert White s Natural History of Selborne Driscoll was conscripted into the army and was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps in 1947 He served as a subaltern in India where he lost the convoy of which he was in charge and was severely reprimanded He later served in the Palestine Mandate Egypt and Northern Ireland In 1948 he enrolled at St Martin s School of Art on the British equivalent of the GI Bill After he graduated from St Martin s with a national diploma in design he won a place at the Royal College of Art He married Kiffi Bowerley a fellow St Martin s student in 1951 they had three children one of whom Guy died in 1996 They divorced in 1979 He launched himself on a career as an illustrator which stretched on into the 1970s and included many national press campaigns authors he collaborated included the famous naturalist Gerald Durrell and the Hans Christian Andersen Awardee Rene Guillot By 1982 he became a sculptor enjoying the technique of working in a three dimensional medium He declared that sculpture was easy when compared with painting He made many trips to Italy to oversee his sculptures forged by the Mariani foundry at Pietrasanta His son Falcon married an Italian woman Sabina Coppola in 2001 further copper fastening Barry Driscoll s love of Italy Exhibitions editDriscoll was under less pressure to exhibit than many other artists He did show with the Society of Wildlife Artists SWLA of which he was a member and with the Phoenix Gallery in Lavenham Suffolk although he was not represented by any major commercial gallery In 2002 he was the principal sculptor in a wildlife show of two and three dimensional works which originated at the Accademia Nazionale d Arte Antica e Moderna in Turin Italy It travelled then to Barcelona then back to the Society of Wildlife Artists SWLA in England Death editHe died of cancer aged 79 and was survived by his former wife Kiffi his children Pippa and Falcon and by Leila Kooros Driscoll s later partner in life Bibliography editAn incomplete list of his important illustrations include the books Mokokambo The Lost Land Rene Guillot 1961 Very Fine Company Birds about my Garden Jo Heriot 1963 The Curious World of Snakes Natural Science Picture Books with Alfred Leutscher 31 December 1963 Tarka the Otter North Devon the country of Tarka s life and death as Illustrator by Henry Williamson 1964 Apes and Monkeys Natural Science Picture Books by Desmond Morris 31 December 1964 Two in the Bush Gerald Durrell 1966 The King of Cats Rene Guillot 1966 External links editObituary The Guardian 15 May 2006 Obituary The Independent 3 June 2006 Biography on theweeweb co uk site relating to Ladybird Books Barry Driscoll on Artnet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Barry Driscoll amp oldid 1090193880, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
