Anne Magill

Biography

Born in Northern Ireland, Anne Magill moved to London when she won a place to study at St. Martins School of Art. She subsequently became an award-winning illustrator, working for magazine and publishing houses and design and ad agencies. She is a past winner of the Benson & Hedges Illustration Awards.

Her first solo exhibition was in 1992 and since then she has regularly exhibited in London galleries as well as showing in Europe, USA and Ireland.

Work

Magill describes her work as simply trying to capture a feeling of those fleeting moments in life. "There is always narrative in my paintings and I’m always trying to convey this through the use of light, colour and texture. The work is nearly always figurative. I’m caught up in trying to convey those moments where something epic has just happened, or is about to happen but just hint at it - a sort of 'less is more' approach."

“Magritte said he was a man who thought and who communicated his thoughts by means of painting. Anne Magill is a witness, who bears testimony to a series of infinitely still and silent human scenes by means of her painting. The great power of her work is her Hopper–like genius to compel us to weave a story, conjured from our own repertoire about these scenes. Though we do not know the men or women we feel we recognize them, as they stand gazing at an event we cannot see or walking, face hidden under a hat, towards a destination of which we are unaware. The paintings are filled less with ambiguity than with mystery; are the young couple breaking up or making up? Are the older couple leaving or approaching the landscape? Is there an element of escape or resignation in the square set of their shoulders? They strike a Yeatsian note reminding us 'That a pity beyond all telling is hid in the heart of love.'

Standing entranced before one of her paintings we become convinced that we will understand, eventually, the human truth which inspired the image. The world fades away and we are taken out of our time by the mysterious and iconic power of the figure, his or her humanity caught by the artist." - Josephine Hart

“She is a master of portraying loaded emotions and silent tensions and this gives the paintings their power and eloquence.” - Lucy Alexander, The Times

Publishing editions

In 2010, Magill joined the gallery Heartbreak, based in Marylebone, London. Her work is also published by Heartbreak Publishing, a new publishing company co-owned by the artist Jack Vettriano.

Exhibitions

In December 2010, Magill's exhibition Journeys opened at the London gallery, Heartbreak.

In January 2011, Magill collaborated with British Airways on a collection for the new VIP Lounge at JFK. A selection of her work will be on show in the Concorde room for three years exclusively.

In October 2011, Magill created a series of small paintings inspired by photographs and designs from the archives of Alfred Dunhill. The collection of paintings were showcased at the London home of Alfred Dunhill]. Magill noted, “My paintings have always been about those quiet moments, trying to catch the second where someone is lost in their own world. Being given access to the Dunhill archive allowed me to see the history behind the company and the fact that their motivations hadn’t changed from the past, but had adapted to suit modern life. It is an ethos that I share; my work is not cutting edge nor is it traditional. I think I’m somewhere between the two.

This work revolves around a series of paintings inspired from the Dunhill collections past and present. There are nods to explorers like Shackleton, which will be expanded into a larger collection of works in the future and there are also my signature pieces – the strong characters caught in a still moment, beautifully dressed.”

Previous exhibitions include:

Solo shows

Group shows

Awards

Philanthropy

In March 2010 Magill donated a painting, "Still", to the THT Media release in aid of the Terence Higgins Trust. The painting is one of a series of studies of performers preparing to go on stage which was featured in Magill's most recent exhibition, Journeys.

In October 2010, Magill participated in the British Airways "Save the Postcard" campaign.

In April 2011, Magill contributed a piece of work to the Harestyling exhibition to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Her piece was later auctioned at a celebrity ball for over £2000.

In December 2011, Magill donated the painting "Just Before Midnight" to the Cinderella Ball Auction to raise funds for the Muir Maxwell Trust.