Leading British romantic painter
Hugo Grenville first exhibited in London at the Chelsea Arts Society at the age of 15, although it took him another 14 years to become a full time painter. After leaving school he travelled the Hippy Trail to India, ran out of money, joined the Coldstream Guards and served as an officer in Northern Ireland, West Africa, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) during the Civil War, and finally as an Aide-de-Camp to C-in-C British Army of the Rhine, during which time he painted whenever possible, and studied part-time at Chelsea School of Art and Heatherley’s.
Working first in advertising and then as an art dealer, he finally submitted to the need to paint full-time at the age of 30. With 20 one-man shows under his belt at major galleries in London, New York and Palm Beach, Hugo has forged an enviable reputation as one of the country’s leading colourist painters, resulting in invitations to lecture and teach from institutions such as Falmouth School of Art and the V & A Museum. His fabric designs were included in the Liberty’s Spring/Summer Collection of 2011.
During his career he has painted many portraits of leading figures, including the late Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Runcie, and the counter-tenor Michael Chance in the role of Orpheus at the ENO; he was an Official War Artist in Bosnia in 1995, and has been commissioned by a number of institutions including the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, Edinburgh City Council and The China Club, Hong Kong.
As well as writing regularly for The Artist magazine, Hugo has built a reputation as an inspirational teacher, running short courses and masterclasses in Bristol, Suffolk, Dorset and Portugal.
One Man Shows
2016 Studio 2000, Domburg, Holland
2016 Findlay Galleries Palm Beach
2013 Findlay Galleries New York
2011 Findlay Galleries Palm Beach
2010 Josie Eastwood Fine Art, London
2009 Findlay Galleries International, Palm Beach
2007 Josie Eastwood Fine Art, London
2006 Findlay Galleries International, New York
2005 Messum’s, London
2004 Messum’s, London
2003 Messum’s, London
2002 Messum’s, London
2001 Messum’s, London
2000 Messum’s, London
Group Shows
During the past 25 years Hugo Grenville has exhibited at the Salon (Societe des Artistes Française) in Paris, and at the Threadneedle Prize in London, the New English Art Club, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour the Royal Society of Painters in Oil, The Chelsea Arts Club.
Collections
Work is represented in corporate, institutional and private collections in the UK, USA, Canada, France, Hong Kong and Australia, including:
Edinburgh City Council
The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers
The Ministry of Defence
The China Club, Hong Kong
The Tresco Estate
Pembroke Management
The Duke of Devonshire
Searcy’s
Duke’s Hotel St James’s
The Earl of Verulam
