David Oxtoby
Artist David Oxtoby, attended Bradford Regional College of Art from
1950 to 1957
David Oxtoby attended the Bradford Regional College of Art from 1950 to 1957 where
he met among others, David Hockney. After leaving the Art School he worked for 3
years in anything from manual labouring to being a commercial artist on Blackpool
illuminations and as a scene painter for the theatre. In 1960 he began a degree in
painting at the Royal Academy, completing his studies in 1964. Shortly afterwards
David took a teaching job in Minnesota, staying there almost a year.
David has almost exclusively devoted his work to drawing and painting portraits of
famous musicians and singers, celebrating the music he loves. He recalls “I started
working on musical subject matter while studying graphics at Bradford College of Art
during the fifties, completing three or more self-imposed record covers a day. These
were actually small paintings (a fact I didn’t realize for many years) with lettering
typeset in the Print Department and shoved on as an afterthought.” (A personal
biographical statement by David Oxtoby as published in the catalogue of British Pop,
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Spain, 2005/06.)
Little survives of his work from the
1960s because of the loss of four years work in a warehouse fire.
David Oxtoby did paint Lennon, McCartney, Elton John, Bowie, Jimi Hendrix but his
main passion was for the American artists who redefined the meaning of rock music
including Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Little Richard etc. Much of
his work is derived from photographs and captures the energy and excitement of the
music he followed.
Since the early 1980s Oxtoby has withdrawn from exhibiting to concentrate on a
major series of paintings which pay respect to the music he grew up with. His paintings
recreate the emotion, and excitement that characterise rock music.
Examples of David
Oxtoby’s work can be found in collections at the Tate, the National Portrait Gallery,
Cartwright Hall, Sheffield City Art Gallery, The Whitworth, Glasgow Museums and
Galleries and globally including Brazil, New York, Minneapolis, and Chicago. David has
exhibited his work all over the world both in one man shows and in group exhibitions
including the Redfern Gallery London, Cartwright Hall, Skipton Castle and The Royal
Academy.
Photograph courtesy of John Loker shows the Common room at the Regional College of Art in Bradford in 1956. On left, David Oxtoby, on tea chest bass, John Loker on washboard and Norman Stevens on vocals.