Christian Furr

Education

Furr was educated at Ladymount Primary School, Heswall and St Anselm's College, Birkenhead. He later did a foundation course at Wirral Metropolitan College and a Fine Art degree at De Montfort University.

Career

In 1995, at the age of 28, he was commissioned by the Royal Overseas League to officially paint Queen Elizabeth II. HM Queen Elizabeth II chose Furr from a number of artists and the portrait was painted at Buckingham Palace. The portrait now hangs on permanent display at the Royal Overseas League headquarters in London and is viewable by the public.

In 2016 Furr inadvertently helped create a media frenzy when he expressed concern that the artist Anish Kapoor had gained the exclusive rights to Vantablack, known as 'the blackest black'. Furr, who had planned to use Vantablack in a series of paintings called Animals, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I've never heard of an artist monopolising a material. Using pure black in an artwork grounds it. All the best artists have had a thing for pure black – JMW Turner, Manet, Goya. This black is like dynamite in the art world. We should be able to use it. It isn't right that it belongs to one man.'

In 2014 Furr completed a portrait of Thomas van Straubenzee and Lady Melissa Percy)

In November 2012, Furr curated the art exhibition "Liverpool Love" at the new Museum of Liverpool in aid of Claire House Hospice. The exhibition included works by Yoko Ono, Sir Peter Blake David Mach and many respected artists from the art and music scene. In June 2011, Furr was commissioned to paint Blenheim Palace during GE Triathlon. The painting was bought by Jamie Blandford for public display at the Palace in 2014 when it was auctioned to raise funds for the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust by GE.

In 2010, with the chairman, Furr presented HRH The Duke of Edinburgh with a print of his portrait of the Queen on behalf of the Eccentric Club of which he is a member at The Arts Club, Mayfair, London.

In 2008, he was commissioned to paint Sultan, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. In 2002, Furr painted Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor for Westminster Cathedral along with Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue and Bishop George Stack.

In 2005, Britvic commissioned Furr to create a painting marking 70 years of Robinsons (drink) the Wimbledon Championships on Centre Court. The giant canvas featuring Tim Henman and Fred Perry was completed by over one thousand people at Wimbledon. The original hangs at britvic headquarters, UK.

He has appeared on television teaching Jade Goody how to paint on Channel 4's Richard & Judy and appearing in ITV daytime art series A Brush with Fame, presenting alongside Carol Smillie and art critic David Lee.

His work has been displayed in the Saatchi Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Society of Portrait Painters and The Royal Watercolour Society. He is a member of Chelsea Arts Club, Hotel Cafe Royal, Groucho Club, Eccentric Club and the former Colony Room Soho. Furr's other portrait subjects include: Dita Von Teese, Tim Henman, Esme Bianco, Gered Mankowitz, and Father Michael Seed. Furr's book The Lost Art was published in May 2008.[1]

In 2013 Furr had a show of neon artworks created with the late Chris Bracey [2] entitled 'The Staying Alive Neon Collection'[3]. The show received critical acclaim in the British press including The Independent.[4]

In 2013 Furr was appointed to the board of the British Inspiration Awards where he nominated Peter Blake (artist) for a special recognition award in his 80th year. Furr is an active member of the Chelsea Arts Club In 2014 he was appointed to the Artists General Benevolent Institiution at the Royal Academy. 'AGBI' is the oldest charity in Great Britain and was founded by JMW Turner In 2015 he became a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts His work features in prominent collections globally including 45 Park Lane the Dorchester Collection and at the Hotel Café Royal where he is also on committee.

Award

Furr was awarded the Association of Colleges Gold Award (2004) at the House of Commons given to further education alumni who have gone on to achieve excellence in their chosen field.

Art market

Furr is represented by Long Sharp, USA