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Grazioso, delivato e Vero
Graceful and true, these enchanting words I have cribbed form the review of the current exhibition at the Ashmolean because they so perfectly sum up Peter Kuhfeld's work.
He paints trivialities (as do I) with ardour and pleasure. Madly politically incorrect he is a non-confirmist with the courage and delicious skill to paint what delights him. He was lucky to have been at the R.A. Schools at a brilliant moment when the team of teachers consisted of Peter Greenham, Ruskin Speer and that reticent and rare painter Norman Blamey. All three very different characters but united in their belief and enthusiasm for drawing and painting what the eye sees - the wonder of the visible world. This viewpoint gave an edge to the teaching, drawing was strictly taugh, there was a right and a wrong, feeling was no enough, facts, construction and an alertness to the character of a subject. Not just the labour but the intelligence of appraisal - the necessity to be "on the wing" now and then as well as the stamina which demands rectitude.
These student years have blossomed for Peter Kuhfeld, given exercise for his fine draughtsmanship and enabled him to profit from his rare gift of 'good tone'. This quality is hard to define in words - perhaps the musical term 'perfect pitch' best sums it up. He is able to make colours sing and spread air between and beyond his figures. Turn his picture upside down and you will have a balance of forms and colours achieved by a mixture of bold and nervous brushstrokes - and a freshness. Freshness is a tricky commodity too often attained by a loss of weight, of form, and preciousness, a fear of pushing a subject through - but oh, what a lovely thing when upheld by good drawing and the apprehension of the needs of a fine painting. Graceful and TRUE.
Kenneth Clark writing about Wilson Steer remembers the old painter revelling in pretty things, Chelsea porcelain, late Chinese and even Japanese bronzes - "I was always grateful to him for encouraging me in my own taste at the time when it seemed almost immoral to like anything which was not ugly".
So here we have a show of paintings done for the painter's pleasure and our pleasure - a treat.
John Ward CBE, RO
Bilting Court
April 2004
Peter Kuhfeld is one of the most distinguished painters working today. Unashamedly romantic and figurative, his landscapes, gardens, cityscapes and interiors feature at the New English Art Club and the Royal Academy Summer exhibitions. His portraits – often evocative nudes - appear at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters shows.
He has been awarded numerous prizes including the Royal Academy’s Silver Medal for Drawing and the Royal College of Surgeons’ Dooley Prize for Anatomical Drawing. He has received the Prince of Wales’s prize for portrait drawing, and was the travelling painter on a trip made by Prince Charles to Nigeria, Cameroon, Tunisia and Japan in 1990.
His works are in the permanent collections of The Queen, Prince Charles of Wales, Baring Bros, the National Trust and many others.
Roy and Jason Petley have been showing Peter Kuhfeld's work for the last seven years. We are very proud to have a new collection of selected works by this extraordinary artist. These paintings will be on show in the gallery for the next five weeks.
Kuhfeld is the only child of a German prisoner of war and an English classical pianist. Between 1972-76 he studied at Leicester School of Art. He worked from 1976-1978 at Rugby School of Art, where he gave lessons in drawing and painting, before securing a place at the prestigious Royal Academy School of Art. During 1977-80 Kuhfeld studied under the painter Peter Greenham CBE, RA. In 1978 he was created a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Painters.
While at the Royal Academy Schools Kuhfeld won various notable scholarships and prizes: 1978-79 David Murray Landscape Prize; 1979 Royal Academy of Art Silver Medal for Drawing, Royal College of Surgeons Dooley Prize for Anatomical Drawing; 1980 Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation Scholarship and Richard Ford Scholarship for study in Spain.
A selection of works can be found here on our website:
http://www.petleys.co.uk/works.html
Graceful and true, these enchanting words I have cribbed form the review of the current exhibition at the Ashmolean because they so perfectly sum up Peter Kuhfeld's work.
He paints trivialities (as do I) with ardour and pleasure. Madly politically incorrect he is a non-confirmist with the courage and delicious skill to paint what delights him. He was lucky to have been at the R.A. Schools at a brilliant moment when the team of teachers consisted of Peter Greenham, Ruskin Speer and that reticent and rare painter Norman Blamey. All three very different characters but united in their belief and enthusiasm for drawing and painting what the eye sees - the wonder of the visible world. This viewpoint gave an edge to the teaching, drawing was strictly taugh, there was a right and a wrong, feeling was no enough, facts, construction and an alertness to the character of a subject. Not just the labour but the intelligence of appraisal - the necessity to be "on the wing" now and then as well as the stamina which demands rectitude.
These student years have blossomed for Peter Kuhfeld, given exercise for his fine draughtsmanship and enabled him to profit from his rare gift of 'good tone'. This quality is hard to define in words - perhaps the musical term 'perfect pitch' best sums it up. He is able to make colours sing and spread air between and beyond his figures. Turn his picture upside down and you will have a balance of forms and colours achieved by a mixture of bold and nervous brushstrokes - and a freshness. Freshness is a tricky commodity too often attained by a loss of weight, of form, and preciousness, a fear of pushing a subject through - but oh, what a lovely thing when upheld by good drawing and the apprehension of the needs of a fine painting. Graceful and TRUE.
Kenneth Clark writing about Wilson Steer remembers the old painter revelling in pretty things, Chelsea porcelain, late Chinese and even Japanese bronzes - "I was always grateful to him for encouraging me in my own taste at the time when it seemed almost immoral to like anything which was not ugly".
So here we have a show of paintings done for the painter's pleasure and our pleasure - a treat.
John Ward CBE, RO
Bilting Court
April 2004
Peter Kuhfeld is one of the most distinguished painters working today. Unashamedly romantic and figurative, his landscapes, gardens, cityscapes and interiors feature at the New English Art Club and the Royal Academy Summer exhibitions. His portraits – often evocative nudes - appear at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters shows.
He has been awarded numerous prizes including the Royal Academy’s Silver Medal for Drawing and the Royal College of Surgeons’ Dooley Prize for Anatomical Drawing. He has received the Prince of Wales’s prize for portrait drawing, and was the travelling painter on a trip made by Prince Charles to Nigeria, Cameroon, Tunisia and Japan in 1990.
His works are in the permanent collections of The Queen, Prince Charles of Wales, Baring Bros, the National Trust and many others.
Roy and Jason Petley have been showing Peter Kuhfeld's work for the last seven years. We are very proud to have a new collection of selected works by this extraordinary artist. These paintings will be on show in the gallery for the next five weeks.
Kuhfeld is the only child of a German prisoner of war and an English classical pianist. Between 1972-76 he studied at Leicester School of Art. He worked from 1976-1978 at Rugby School of Art, where he gave lessons in drawing and painting, before securing a place at the prestigious Royal Academy School of Art. During 1977-80 Kuhfeld studied under the painter Peter Greenham CBE, RA. In 1978 he was created a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Painters.
While at the Royal Academy Schools Kuhfeld won various notable scholarships and prizes: 1978-79 David Murray Landscape Prize; 1979 Royal Academy of Art Silver Medal for Drawing, Royal College of Surgeons Dooley Prize for Anatomical Drawing; 1980 Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation Scholarship and Richard Ford Scholarship for study in Spain.
A selection of works can be found here on our website:
http://www.petleys.co.uk/works.html
