Brian Hargreaves
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
_with_Arthur_Smith_&_his_family._Taken_in_the_early_1950s..jpg)
- Keighley Grammar School
- Keighley School of Arts and Crafts
- Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts
Brian Hargreaves | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 May 1935 |
| Died | 30 September 2011 (aged 76) |
| Education |
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| Occupation | Scientific illustrator |
Brian Hargreaves FRSA, FRES (1935-2011) was an English artist and scientific illustrator, known for his depictions of Lepidoptera.
Hargreaves was born on 27 May 1935 at Sutton-in-Craven, Yorkshire.[1] He was educated at Keighley Grammar School, Keighley School of Arts and Crafts and Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts.[1] While at Camberwell he lived with his uncle, the internationally respected entomological artist, Arthur Smith. At Camberwell he met Joyce, who later became his wife.[1] They were each awarded the National Diploma of Design there.[1] As well as working as an artist and illustrator in her own right, she subsequently worked with him on some of his publications.[2]
Career
Hargreaves early career was in church restoration; he gilded the lantern ball and cross that sits on top of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.[3]
He became the first artist to illustrate every one of the butterflies of Britain and Europe, doing so in the book Butterflies of Britain and Europe, which was eventually published in nine languages, and in the United States.[1] As a result, his work was exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[1]
He illustrated Butterflies on My Mind (1978) for the actress Dulcie Gray, who was also vice president of the British Butterfly Conservation Society.[2] The book, which was designed by Joyce Hargreaves, won the Times Educational Supplement Senior Information Book Award.[2]
For his work on Pests, Diseases and Disorders of Garden Plants, he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's gold medal. Another was given for Field Guide of Caterpillars and Their Food Plants, which he illustrated.[1]
In 1997 he undertook a commission to draw the Natural History Museum's wildlife garden.[1]
He designed several series of porcelain ornaments, modelled on butterflies, for Franklin Mint.[1][4]
He enjoyed fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Entomological Society, and the Free Painters and Sculptors, as well as membership of the Guild of Lettering Craftsmen.[1]
Hargreaves died on 30 September 2011, following a heart attack.[3] At that time, he and Joyce were living in Playden, East Sussex.[3] His funeral was held at Hastings Crematorium.[3]
