Michael Andrews

Michael Andrews (1928−1995)

Michael Andrews was born in Norwich, Norfolk. He took Saturday classes in oil painting, before being accepted for the Slade School of Fine Art in 1947,  just as William Coldstream had been appointed Professor.

He has often been associated with the School of London, a circle of figurative painters which notably included Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Lucian Freud, R. B. Kitaj and Leon Kossoff. Similar to these artists Andrews’s art demonstrates a preoccupation with the depiction of the human condition. It was at this time that Andrews painted the Colony Room I, 1962, a private members drinking club in London frequented by artists including Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. This piece along with The Estuary (Mouth of the Thames) which is part of the permanent collection of works at Pallant House Gallery

Andrews went on to teach at Chelsea School of Art and at the Slade School of Fine Art, both in London, but by his own admission never liked it. He had his first solo exhibition at the Beaux-Arts Gallery in 1958, and a major retrospective was held at Tate Britain in 2001.