John Bellany, painter
John Bellany, CBE, is an eminent Scottish painter born in 1942 in Port Seton, into a Calvinist family of fishermen and boat builders. As a child Bellany spent a great deal time with his grandparents in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, which later informed much of his work. He was greatly inspired by religion and battling the elements out at sea, often portraying local seascapes and coastal communities.
Following his education at Edinburgh College of Art and the Royal College of Art (1965-1968) he taught at Brighton College of Art in the late 1960s and early 1970s before becoming Head of Painting at Croydon College from 1973 to 1978.
Bellany then taught at Goldsmiths College of Art until 1984, becoming a Royal Academician in 1991.
Between 1987 and 1990, Bellany was commissioned to produce two iconic posters for Art on the Underground featuring images for Camden Lock and Chinatown.
Bellany’s portrait of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London and a portrait of the actor Sean Connery can be seen in the National Gallery for Scotland.
He was awarded a CBE in 1994 and holds honorary degrees from the Universities of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt.