William Conor,
William Conor was born in Belfast into a working class family. He studied graphic design at the Government School of Design and then apprenticed as a poster designer. He first exhibited at RHA in 1918. He moved to London 1920 and became friendly with Sir John Lavery (1856-1941) and Augustus John (1878-1961) and continued his studies in the city before studying further in Paris under Andre Lhote (1885-1962). He exhibited with the Salon de la Social Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1922-1923 He is best known as a draughtsman and a watercolorist, depicting the ordinary working class people of the time and owing to this, as well as his excellent skill, he has been called the Manet of Belfast and an Irish Daumier. He often depicted children and women absorbed in domestic duties or shipyard workers, and had a distinctly unusual use of pastels whereby he attained grainy textures by scraping or rubbing away areas of the pigment and ironing the reverse side of the drawing.
Among his achievements, he was an elected member of Royal Hibernian Academy. He was the first Irishman to become a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. He was a founding member of the Ulster Academy, later the RUA, and was president from 1957-1964. He was awarded the OBE in 1952. His work is in number of notable collections including Ulster Museum, Belfast; Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin; Crawford Municipal Gallery, Cork; Imperial War Museum, London; The Victoria and Albert Museum, London and Brooklyn Museum, New York.
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Among his achievements, he was an elected member of Royal Hibernian Academy. He was the first Irishman to become a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. He was a founding member of the Ulster Academy, later the RUA, and was president from 1957-1964. He was awarded the OBE in 1952. His work is in number of notable collections including Ulster Museum, Belfast; Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin; Crawford Municipal Gallery, Cork; Imperial War Museum, London; The Victoria and Albert Museum, London and Brooklyn Museum, New York.
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