Sir Patrick Stewart has long had a formidable reputation for his artistry on stage and screen.
Now he has begun to express himself with a paintbrush – and his new-found passion is partly due to the inspiration he has received from the work and the friendship of an ex-university of Huddersfield student who now a professional artist with a growing reputation.
For 11 years Sir Patrick was the university’s Chancellor. He relinquished the role earlier this week – handing over to His Royal Highness The Duke of York, KG – but one of his final tasks was to preside over a ceremony in which Glasgow-based artist Frank To donated to his former university a dramatic oil painting named Fallen. It is now on permanent display in the university’s Creative Arts Building.
Sir Patrick first saw the picture in the early years of his Chancellorship while Frank was still a student, and – with his keen eye for art – the famous actor was immensely impressed.
“I have lusted after this painting since I first saw it more than 10 years ago,” he said. “It made a big impact on me.”
During the intervening years the famous Mirfield-born actor and the young artist have stayed in touch and Sir Patrick – now Chancellor Emeritus at the University – has purchased a number of works by Frank To, who used the actor’s universally-recognisable face and features to depict the Roman poet Virgil in a dramatic series of paintings based on Dante’s Inferno.
Donating his early work Fallen – which featured in his end-of-year coursework show in 2004 – meant that the painting had come full circle.
Frank said his Fine Art degree course, with its excellent teaching, had equipped him not only with technical knowledge but also the life skills he needed to pursue his career as an artist.
Sir Patrick has revealed that his wife had recently presented him with brushes and paint.
Take a look at Sir Patrick's latest visit to Huddersfield University below.
He admitted that at first he was scared of them as he had no drawing skills. But one day he attempted to paint a camellia flower and soon he was hooked.
“I am now deeply embedded in painting, never having touched a brush before!” he said.
Frank presented gifts to Sir Patrick, including a pair of silver cufflinks designed and made by the artist’s girlfriend Jillian Noble. They took their inspiration from the Yorkshire Moors and from Shakespeare play The Tempest.
