Benjamin Hope
{{short description|British artist, based in London (born 1976)}}
{{about|the British painter|the Scottish mountain|Ben Hope}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Benjamin Hope
| honorific_suffix =
| image = File:Self_Portait_of_Benjamin_Hope.jpg
|image_upright =.7
| caption = Self-Portrait of Benjamin Hope
| birth_date = 1976
| nationality = British
| education = {{unbulleted list| University of Warwick | Cambridge University }}
| field = Painter
| website = {{URL|www.benjaminhope.net}}
}}
Benjamin Hope (born 1976){{sfn|Island Fine Arts|2017}} is a British artist, based in London.
Life
He grew up in Oxford, the son of the painter Jane Hope and an academic historian (two of his grandparents were also artists).{{sfn|Walsh|2015}}
After studying Mathematics and Physics at the University of Warwick and taking Part III of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge University, he was awarded a PhD in theoretical nanoscience at Cambridge.{{sfn|Caves|2016}} He has been a competitive runner and earned four Cambridge Blues for cross-country.{{sfn|Caves|2016}}{{sfn|Nichols|2012}}
Hope was invited to join the Oxford Art Society in 1999, and in 2001 his still-life Old Violin won the Oxford Times Critics' Choice at the society's Members' Exhibition. In 2002, for its 400th anniversary, the Bodleian Library commissioned a commemorative still-life.{{sfn|Sysmoko|2017}}
On leaving academia in 2007, he worked as a risk analyst in the City of London in order to earn enough to start painting professionally.{{sfn|Walsh|2015}}{{sfn|Oxford Art Society|2017}} In 2011, he left the City to paint full-time from his studio in Blackheath, South East London.{{sfn|Island Fine Arts|2017}}
Work
File:The_Village_from_Cresswell_Park.jpg
Working mainly in oil, but also in charcoal, pastel, and pencil,{{sfn|Island Fine Arts|2017}}
his works include plein air street scenes, detailed still lifes, and impressionistic portraits.{{sfn|Oxford Art Society|2017|}} The street scenes are mainly of locations in central and south London,{{sfn|Wall Street International|2017}} while he has also painted landscapes beyond the capital.{{sfn|Island Fine Arts|2017}} John Walsh in The Independent called him "a brilliantly accomplished impressionistic painter of street scenes."{{sfn|Walsh|2015}}
His work has been selected for a number of exhibitions,{{sfn|Mall Galleries|2017}} including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2013.{{sfn|John Jones London|2013}} His first solo show, Observations was staged by the JP Art Gallery in London in 2015.{{sfn|ArtRabbit|2015}} A joint exhibition with sculptor Ben Hooper was held at the Gallery Different in Fitzrovia in June 2017.{{sfn|Wall Street International|2017}} Since 2018 he has regularly exhibited at Island Fine Arts in Chichester.{{sfn|About|2025}}
In 2018 he was elected to The Pastel Society{{sfn|Pastel Society|2018}} and the New English Art Club.{{sfn|NEAC|2018}} In 2021 he was elected to membership of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.{{sfn|RSPP|2021}}
Awards and recognition
Hope has won a number of prizes and awards:{{sfn|Mall Galleries|2017}}{{sfn|About|2025}}
- Sheng Xinyu Art Award at the Almenara Art Prize (2024)
- Shortlisted / Runner Up, Ondaatje / William Lock Portrait Prize, Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition (2024)
- Menena Joy Schwabe Memorial Award, Royal Institute of Oil Painters Exhibition (2022)
- Sea Pictures Gallery Award, Royal Society of Marine Artists Exhibition (2022)
- Peter Kelly Commemorative Prize, Royal Society of British Artists Exhibition (2022)
- Michael Harding Award, Royal Society of British Artists Exhibition (2019)
- Frinton Frames Award, Royal Society of British Artists Exhibition (2018)
- Winsor & Newton Non-member Award, Royal Institute of Oil Painters Exhibition (2017)
- First Prize in the Jackson's Pastel Portrait Competition (2016)
- Jackson's Pastel Portrait Competition, First Prize (2016)
- New English Art Club: Mall Galleries Greetings Card Award (2016)
- Pintar Rapido First Prize (2014)
- Jackson's Prize, United Society of Artists Open Exhibition (2014)
His work has been selected for exhibition in{{sfn|Island Fine Arts|2017}}{{sfn|Mall Galleries|2017}}{{sfn|John Jones London|2013}}{{sfn|ArtRabbit|2015}}{{sfn|RSMA|2025}}
- Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 2013
- New English Art Club
- The Pastel Society
- Royal Institute of Oil Painters
- Royal Society of British Artists
- Royal Society of Marine Artists
- Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
Notes
{{reflist|30em}}
References
- {{cite web |url=https://www.artrabbit.com/events/prizewinning-painter-benjamin-hope-presents-debut-solo-exhibition-observations |title=Benjamin Hope. Solo Exhibition - Exhibition at JP ART GALLERY in London |year=2015 |website=ArtRabbit |access-date=15 June 2017|ref={{harvid|ArtRabbit|2015}}}}
- {{cite web |url=https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2016/06/23/benjamin-hope/ |title=Benjamin Hope Paints From Life |last=Caves |first=Julie |year=2016 |website=Jackson's Art Blog |publisher= |access-date=15 June 2017 }}
- {{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.benjaminhope.net/about/ |website=Benjamin Hope |access-date=26 June 2025| ref={{harvid|About|2025}} }}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.islandfinearts.com/artists/235/benjamin-hope |title=Modern British Painters: Benjamin Hope |year=2017 |publisher=Island Fine Arts |access-date=15 June 2017 |ref = {{harvid|Island Fine Arts|2017}} }}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.johnjones.co.uk/news/2013/05/ben-hope-ra-summer-show/ |title=Benjamin Hope - RA Summer Show |year=2013 |website=John Jones London |access-date=15 June 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702225006/http://www.johnjones.co.uk/news/2013/05/ben-hope-ra-summer-show/ |archive-date=2014-07-02|ref = {{harvid|John Jones London|2013}} }}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/artist/benjamin-hope |title=Benjamin Hope |year=2016 |publisher=Mall Galleries |access-date=15 June 2017 |ref = {{harvid|Mall Galleries|2017}}}}
- {{cite web |url=https://handmadelives.wordpress.com/tag/benjamin-hope/ |title=Artist |last=Nichols |first=Dixie |year=2012 |website=Handmade Lives |access-date=15 June 2017}}
- {{cite web |url=https://www.newenglishartclub.co.uk/news/congratulations-our-two-new-members-0 |title=Congratulations to our two new members |year=2018 |website=New English Art Club |access-date=1 July 2018 |ref = {{harvid|NEAC|2018}} }}
- {{cite web |url=http://oxfordartsociety.co.uk/painters/hope-ben/ |title=Hope, Ben |year=2017 |website=Oxford Art Society |access-date=15 June 2017 |ref={{harvid|Oxford Art Society|2017}} |archive-date=1 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901014840/http://oxfordartsociety.co.uk/painters/hope-ben/ |url-status=dead }}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.thepastelsociety.org.uk/index.php/12-members/239-benjamin-hope |title=Benjamin Hope PS NEAC |year=2018 |website=The Pastel Society |access-date=1 July 2018 |ref ={{harvid|Pastel Society|2018}} }}
- {{cite web |title=Our Members |url=http://www.rsma-web.co.uk/members.html |website=Royal Society of Marine Artists |access-date=26 June 2025 | ref={{harvid|RSMA|2025}} }}
- {{cite web |title=Benjamin Hope elected to membership |url=https://therp.co.uk/benjamin-hope-elected-to-membership/ |website=Royal Society of Portait Painters |access-date=27 June 2025 |date=3 June 2021|ref={{harvid|RSPP|2021}} }}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.sysmoko.com/ben-hope-art.html |title=Ben Hope Art |year=2017 |website=Sysmoko |access-date=15 June 2017 |ref = {{harvid|Sysmoko|2017}} }}
- {{cite web |url=http://wsimag.com/art/26541-benjamin-hope-and-ben-hooper |title=Benjamin Hope and Ben Hooper |year=2017 |website=Wall Street International |access-date=15 June 2017| ref = {{harvid|Wall Street International|2017}} }}
- {{cite news |last=Walsh |first=John |date=21 November 2015 |title=Notebook: From Clapham to Cornwall... This Streetwise Artist is a Breath of Fresh Air |work=Independent on Saturday. Radar Supplement|page=10}}
External links
- [http://www.benjaminhope.net/ Benjamin Hope - Artist] (official web site)
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OScv8L1xDXg Interview with British Realist Artist Benjamin Hope NEAC PS - with Alex Tzavaras]
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Category:21st-century English painters