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427:. The same year saw Lawson begin to work as a visiting tutor at the Royal Academy Schools, a role she continued for a further 15 years. In 1990 Lawson's mother Muriel, suffered a debilitating stroke and Sonia became the full-time carer for her until Muriel's death in 1995. Lawson's work developed a new structure after this major loss. She painted
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Following this episode, she explored her relationship with her mother, who had suffered Graves' disease and depression, and the drawing "Gallant Child" depicts this theme. Another study Lawson developed was of night reading and writing: linking both her mother Muriel, who would stay up into the early
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From
February to March 1982 Lawson had a major exhibition "Shrines of Life" held at the Milton Keynes Art Gallery. Sonia Lawson was elected to the Royal Academy in May that year, however in April 1982 she and her husband were badly burnt in a large house fire which destroyed many of her paintings and
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In the early 1970s Lawson became influenced by the campaign
Justice for Maria Colwell against cruelty to children. The illustration 'Coming out of her Shell' shows a sunny outdoor scene where a social worker is fobbed off, while behind closed doors a brutal beating continues. The image does not
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Lawson as a painter of conscience, developed a personal vocabulary to articulate inhumanity, war and cruelty. The paintings of this period include a series of untitled works concerning war and show a hard edged realism depicting torsos and demonic like figures.
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Sonia Lawson was born into a family of artists on 2 June 1934. Her father Fred Lawson and her mother Muriel
Metcalfe, who was 22 years younger, both lived and painted in the small village of
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shows a captive awaiting execution, a painting which, according to Carel Weight, Lawson's professor at the Royal
College of Art, is as disturbing as any work produced by
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and was unable to care for the infant Sonia therefore she was brought up by her mother's sister: Marjorie Walker (née
Metcalfe), in the nearby town of
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438:. The work can be read as abstract tonal blocks from a distance or hold a figurative narrative when studied closely. Lawson stated:
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informs much of her work and the artistic community her parents cultured also fed her imagination. Visitors to her parents' Dales
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depict any one child, rather it shows the universal tragedy of failures in child protection: sadly still very relevant today.
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Lawson married in 1969 and her daughter was born in 1970. Sonia Lawson died on 15 May 2023, at the age of 88.
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My interest is to solve the difficulty of using recognisable imagery, yet having the freedom of abstraction.
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Usherwood, Nicholas. 'Sonia Lawson: Passions and Alarms' (Published by Sansom & Co, 2014)
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602:"Troops with Anti-Tank Mortar, West Germany: Preparations for 'Lionheart' September 1984"
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Lawson studied at
Doncaster School of Art in the 1950s and in 1955 gained a place at the
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hours with books, pen and ink, together with a trio of paintings depicting the
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Dorothy Una
Ratcliffe commissioned Fred Lawson to illustrate many of her books
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to record the
British Armies of the Rhine Exercise "Operation Lionheart"
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in celebration of the ecumenical accord. The picture is now held in the
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In
October 1962, Lawson was one of those chosen for Six Young Painters:
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206:(2 June 1934 – 15 May 2023) was an English contemporary artist born in
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from 1960- 1965. Other tutors at the time included Peter Blake and
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left her hospitalised for weeks, permanently scarring her hands.
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Sonia Lawson at the opening of her exhibition, Mercer
Gallery,
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349:. In 1965 Freddie Gore appointed her visiting lecturer at
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Equine figures are cut Into the surface of the canvas in
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art School for a year, following which she taught at
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Royal West of England Academy Website - Sonia Lawson
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Royal Academy London Website - Sonia Lawson RA page
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310:Sonia Lawson illustration for Friends of
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415:In 1989 Lawson was commissioned by the
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531:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
676:32 artworks by or after Sonia Lawson
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291:series. In 1982 Sonia was elected a
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355:West Surrey College of Art
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261:Dorothy Una Ratcliffe
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625:first published 1996
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343:Harrow School of Art
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341:. Lawson taught at
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644:978-1-908326-62-1
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563:Sonialawson.co.uk
480:"Sonia Lawson RA"
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371:"Figure at Dawn"
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556:"Sonia Lawson"
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513:on 24 May 2018
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255:James Kirkup
243:Jacob Kramer
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187:Sonia Lawson
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85:(2023-05-15)
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25:Sonia Lawson
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701:2023 deaths
696:1934 births
588:Tate.org.uk
323:Peter Blake
163:sonialawson
140:ARWS (1985)
92:Nationality
83:15 May 2023
72:Wensleydale
64:2 June 1934
690:Categories
606:Iwm.org.uk
461:References
347:Ken Howard
339:Euan Uglow
143:RWS (1989)
60:1934-06-02
619:ArtReview
491:29 August
406:Wesphalia
245:, painter
238:included
214:Biography
181:Harrogate
100:Education
74:, England
527:cite web
302:Synopsis
251:, author
425:Vatican
410:Germany
359:Farnham
289:Monitor
236:cottage
228:Leyburn
158:Website
125:Elected
95:British
680:Art UK
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568:9 July
517:20 May
455:studio
429:"Herd"
281:BBC TV
273:London
203:HonRWA
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559:(PDF)
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640:ISBN
570:2022
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519:2014
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421:Pope
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80:Died
50:Born
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167:.uk
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
