Patrick Graham

Patrick Graham was born in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath in 1943. A brilliant draughtsman from a young age, Graham won a scholarship to the National College of Art and Design (1959-1963). He felt undermined by the academic system and after graduation, he abandoned painting for almost 20 years. He began exhibiting in earnest again in the early 1980s and quickly became recognised as an artist of great conviction with complete mastery of his materials. He was elected to Aosdána in 1986. His approach to art is philosophical, and his work is emotionally charged and often poignant. Nothing is taboo and his paintings and drawings resonate with symbols and phrases drawn from his consciousness of history both personal and universal.