Alexander Creswell (Born 1957) "Westminster Abbey" Watercolor on Paper Signed Lower Right. 

Condition as pictured.

Overall Size: 17 1/4 x 22 in. 

Sight Size: 9 3/4 x 21 3/4 in.

Alexander Creswell (born 1957) is known for his fluency and skill in watercolour and his focus on capturing 'the spirit of place'.  He is best known for the large series of watercolours commissioned by the Royal Collection to depict Windsor Castle after the Fire and Restoration in 1993 & 1997 respectively, published as a book Out of the Ashes. He is also known for his watercolours on a grand scale - the biggest ever painted. He also does marine paintings alongside his more familiar architectural work.

"Watercolour, reputedly the most difficult of artist's media always appealed to me for that very reason: give me a challenge at which I can try to excel and I will thrive. Perversely watercolour appealed for another reason: having been completely out of fashion in the C20th, rejected and  forgotten, watercolour was dismissed as a medium only suitable for Victorian ladies, not a medium for the consideration of great art, as Sir Joshua Reynolds had proscribed in the 1770s. So not only challenging technically but also deeply unfashionable. Even better." Alexander Creswell.

Alexander was born in Helsinki, Finland in the British Embassy, where his father was serving as British ambassador.  He grew up shuttling between various capitals and in boarding school in England.  It was at Winchester College where his interest in Art flourished under the guidance of the late Grahame Drew. He attended a Foundation Course at West Surrey College of Art & Design, Farnham, but is otherwise largely self-taught having survived only a term and a half at the Byam Shaw, London. He owes his skills to analyzing the work of past masters.

In 1991 his book The Silent Houses of Britain caught public imagination and critical attention establishing his career within the long tradition of British watercolourists.  This was followed by a series of major exhibitions with Spink & Son in London and in Hong Kong. Recognition of his work has brought important commissions, not only from The Royal Collection following the Windsor Castle fire, and HM Queen Elizabeth II to record the Lying in State of the Queen Mother, but also from the Frick Museum and Forbes Collection in New York, the Duchess of Northumberland to record the creation of the Alnwick Garden and work for the Parliamentary Art Collection amongst many others.

Creswell's fascination is 'the Spirit of Place' and beauty, whether it be in architecture and landscape or more recently at sea.  "He has an ability unique amongst his generation to capture both the appearance and the atmosphere of a building." HRH The Prince of Wales's forward to Out of the Ashes.  His distinctive style in watercolour combines subtle colouring and skilful draughtsmanship with a strong reverence for natural light.  Throughout his career Creswell has consistently fought to bring watercolour to the forefront of academic painting whilst persistently exploring his medium, and exploding the perceived boundaries of watercolour.

Creswell has travelled as official artist with the Prince of Wales and taught at the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture, the Prince's Foundation and the ICA (Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America) in New York. He has painted extensively throughout Italy with collections from Sicily, Venice, Turin, Rome and Lecce as well as in Britain, the USA, Europe, Russia, Egypt and the Middle East. He is preparing a publishing series on Italian architecture.

In 2005 he founded the Big Picture Co creating unique installations for Grange Park Opera with his work blown-up to a vast scale on scrim hangings.

Creswell is a pioneer. In 2006 Creswell's 'Grand Scale' paintings were first exhibited in New York. Their impact was as great as their size.  In painting these vast works (up to nine feet, 3 metres long) Creswell was rebelling against the tradition of small scale watercolours.  He pushed his medium to new heights of experimentation and the results were described as "nothing short of extraordinary". Creswell relishes the enormous technical challenges which these larger works present and finds the opportunity to paint on such a scale hugely liberating. Alexander also has continued to work on big paintings alongside his more traditionally sized watercolours.

Creswell exhibits regularly in New York, London and the Dubai.  In 2010 he had major solo exhibitions in New York at Hirschl & Adler Galleries and in London at Portland Gallery. In 2011, he had an exhibition in New York at Forbes Gallery

Alexander Creswell is married and lives in Surrey with his wife and 3 children.

Condition as pictured.