LANCASTER, Brian C., GRA. RSMA. FRSA.*

Brian Lancaster was born on 3rd August 1931 and brought up in in Atherton, South Lancashire near Manchester. Industry was then at its height and from this background he has absorbed a liking for industrial subjects. He won a scholarship from his local school, attending Bolton Art College for 3 years, attending for a further three years at Southport College of Art, later gaining further qualifications at Manchester College of Art. He specialised in lithography and graphic design, though continuing to paint regularly. His first exhibitions were at the Atkinson Art Gallery (the Municipal Gallery) and at Southport`s Annual Exhibition. He then had to do National Service in the RAF, this having been deferred to enable him to complete his studies. Upon returning to civilian life he obtained work as a package designer, which he carried out both in England and in Canada for the next twenty years. It was in this capacity that he came to Bristol, eventually working in the studios of Mardon, Son and Hall at Templegate. Harold Packer, the studio manager at the time, introduced him to the Bristol Savages and he was elected a Red Feather in 1969. On leaving Mardon’s in 1973 he joined Ford`s Creative Studios as an illustrator and general artist. This was followed by a position with a Bristol Advertising Agency (Barney`s Advertising). He regularly exhibited at the Savages’ Annual Exhibition and sometimes at the R.W.A.. He also had contacts with other galleries, notably Alexander Galleries. More recently he has extended his range and entered watercolours in all the major London exhibitions with a more than 50% acceptance. The University of Bristol offered him the venue of their Drama Dept. for a one-man show that lasted for 6 weeks in 1988. In 1990 he was accepted as a member of the Guild of Railway Artists, and in 1998 was elected a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and in the same year he was entered into Who`s Who in Art (B. C. L.). Died 30 December 2005.