Robert King (1936 - )

Robert King was born in 1936 in the city of Leicester. He went on to study at the Leicester College of Art in 1952 for 2 years, as a part-time student. This led on to a period of service in the army where he toured Egypt, a place later to become an inspiration to his career as an artist. After leaving the army he continued his study of art in his hometown Leicester, developing his work sufficiently to hold exhibitions in Leicester, The Royal Institute and the Royal Academy in London, in addition to the Paris Salon.

In 1980, he had a string of solo exhibitions, the first shown at the Medici Gallery in London, all proving to be highly successful. In 1985 he was honoured through election to become a member of both the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Society of Marine Artists.

A few years later in 1988 he ventured to the USA and Canada to exhibit his work, to then return to Lymington and Jersey, where he produced many works that he would go onto display in a variety of solo exhibitions. Lymington was soon to become his home, when in 1989 he moved to a small coastguard’s cottage that faced the Solent.

Robert King has had multiple commissions, his most well known being The Light Dragoons of the combined Cavalry Regiment, a presentation of the Guidon given to Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, their Commander-in-chief.

Yet the majority of his work illustrates his passion for the areas that surround him, whether it is the beaches and estuaries of his home on the South Coast, the windmills of Norfolk, unique cityscapes of London, Florence and Venice or the painted recordings of his more distant travels to Tuscany, Tunisia and Egypt. All created proficiently in several mediums including oils, watercolour, gouache and pastel.