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Biography

 
Kevin Geary was born in 1952 in Lincoln, England, to Irish parents whose ancestries in Cork and Waterford span centuries. 

At the age of 13, he won an award of excellence  for his work from the Royal Drawing Society in England.

He studied Anatomy and Colour Theory at the Royal Academy in London, as well as having private instruction under the late Professor Carel Weight, R.A.., who became something of a mentor to the artist.

At the age of 19, Geary was the political cartoonist for the Financial Times. An original cartoon of his from that time, of Edward Heath,  hung in No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's residence, and is now in the collection of the late Sir Edward Heath's Museum, Arundells, in Salisbury, England.

At age 20, he had his first solo exhibition at the King's Gallery in London, opened by the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who also lent Geary’s portrait of him to the show. Since the artist's first one-man show in 1972, he has had over 80 exhibitions of his works in Europe, as well as the U.S.

For over thirty years Kevin Geary has received international acclaim for his commissioned portraits, which have depicted such prominent subjects as Pope John Paul II, Dr. Henry Kissinger, Golda Meir, Sen. John McCain, Leonard Bernstein, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Placido Domingo, among many others.

Works by Kevin Geary are included in the collections of several major museums, including the Primary Collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

In 2004, Geary stopped accepting regular portrait commissions to concentrate on his abstract and "face" paintings, which have been acquired by many major private collectors in Ireland, England, Europe, Japan and the US.

In 2007 his biography was included in the prestigious Allgemeines Künstlerlexicon, the German published Encyclopedia of Biographies of prominent artists in the world, both past and present.

Geary’s works have sold at Christie’s in London, Whyte’s Auctions in Dublin and Doyle, New York.

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Selected Exhibitions, Commissions, Museum collections, etc.

Born 1952 in Lincoln, England.

1966 
Awarded prize for drawing by the Royal Drawing Society, London.

1971 
Works as a political cartoonist for the Financial Times, London.

1972 
King's Gallery, London. (First one man show, opened by Harold Wilson).

1973 
Hornchurch Public Library, Essex. (Invited one man exhibition).

1974 
Polytechnic of Central London. (Invited one man exhibition, with an introduction by David Wehl, OBE.).

1974 
Commissioned to do portraits of Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Errol Garner, and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

1974 
Commissioned to do Stations of the Cross for a Catholic Church, "Christ the Eternal High Priest" in Gidea Park, Essex.

1974 
One man show, "Music and Musicians" at the Ansdell Gallery. (Introduction by the artist Carel Weight, RA).

1974 
Vladimir Ashkenazy portrait donated to the International Piano Archives, Maryland.

1974 
Contemporary Portraits exhibition at Wildenstein Gallery, London.

1975-76 
Lives in Ireland, in Waterford and Dublin.

1975
Setanta Gallery, Dublin.

1975 
Curwen Gallery, invited exhibit, "Figures into Spaces", London.

1975 
2nd Cleveland International Drawing Biennale, Cleveland.

1976 
Returns to live in London.

1976 
National Museum of Wales.

1976 
Birmingham Art Gallery.

1976 
Carlisle Art Gallery.

1976 
Charlotte Square Gallery, Edinburgh.

1976 
Laing Art Gallery, Manchester.

1976 
Camden Arts Centre, London.

1976 
Commissioned to do portrait of Cyril Cusack, the actor.

1977
Thumb Gallery, London. (Exhibition of the Cyril Cusack portrait, which he gives to the Abbey Theatre)

1977 
Commissioned to do portraits of Karl Böhm, Jack Brymer, Aram Khachaturian, Sir Colin Davis, Vladimir Ashkenazy

1978 
Commissioned to do portraits of Sergiu Celibidache, James Galway, Claudo Abbado and Alfred Brendel.

1978 
Royal Festival Hall, London. (Exhibition of the Khachaturian portrait at the memorial concert for the composer).

1978 
Sets up a studio in Chelsea, London

1978 
Portrait of Khachaturian acquired and donated to the Kachaturian Museum in Yerevan.

1979 
Commissioned to do the portrait of Pope John Paul II for his trip to Ireland.

1979 
Commissioned to do portraits of Princess Michael of Kent, Oscar Peterson.

1979 
Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London.

1980 
Starts doing his first purely abstract paintings.

1980 
Commissioned to do portrait of Placido Domingo for 10th anniversary appearance at Covent Garden.

1980 
Commissioned to do portrait of Dizzy Gillespie.

1981 
Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London.

1981 
Fieldbourne Galleries, London. (Invited exhibition, "Music and Musicians").

1982 
Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London.

1982 
Royal Festival Hall, London (Invited exhibition of musician's portraits).

1982 
Chenil Gallery, London (One man 10 year retrospective exhibition).

1983 
Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London.

1983 
Wigmore Hall, London (Unveiling of the portrait of Ivor Newton by Edward Heath and William Rees-Mogg).

1983 
Carmichael Fine Art, London (Major one man show, covering 12 years of work).

1983-84 
Lives in Paris.

1984 
James Mayor Gallery, Paris. (First showing of abstract work).

1984 
Stroud Festival, England (Invited one man exhibition of portraits and paintings)

1985 
First trip to the United States.

1985 
Contemporary Art Fair, London.

1986 
Lives in Seattle.

1986 
Matzke Runnings Gallery, Seattle.

1986 
Commissioned to do portrait of Gerard Schwartz, for the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

1987 
Lives in Los Angeles.

1987 
Otis Parsons Gallery, Los Angeles. (Invited exhibition)

1989 
Lives in San Francisco.

1991 
Jack Brymer portrait purchased by the National Portrait Gallery, London.

1992 
National Portrait Gallery, London (Recent Acquisitions)

1994 
Commissioned to do a portrait of Henry Kissinger.

1995 
Work acquired for the collection by the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco).

1996 
Becomes U.S. permanent resident.

1996 
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. (Recent Acquisitions).

1999 
Moves to Arizona

2000 
Lives in Sedona

2001 
Commissioned to do portrait of Senator John McCain.

2002 
New Urban Art Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona. (Shows abstract paintings)

2003 
Cathedral Center for the Arts, Phoenix, Arizona. (Invited one man exhibition, "Abstracts and Portraits")

2004 
First work sells at auction at Whyte's Auctions, Dublin.

2005 
Ceases accepting portrait commissions on a regular basis, concentrates on his abstract and "face" paintings.

2004-2012
Work starts appearing at auction at Whyte's in Dublin; Doyle Auctions, in New York; Christie's, in London.

 

                                                                                                      Material Copyright © Kevin Geary 2001-20012