Dennis Creffield 1931-2018
Images
Biography
One of the most powerful draughtsmen of the last seventy years, the paintings and drawings of Dennis Creffield combine a fidelity to the subject with immense improvisation to fuse empiricism with a profound spirituality.
Perhaps most famous for his epic drawings of the cathedrals of England and France, the human body has also been a long-standing preoccupation.Creffield's work is in numerous museum collections from Tate Britain to Los Angeles County Museum.James Hyman Gallery was honoured to represent Dennis Creffield for many years and especially proud to have commissioned and staged the marvellous Jersualem exhibiton in 2011. This was one of the largest and most ambitious exhibitions of Creffield's entire career. At the heart of the exhibition was an incredible iconostasis - an exraordinary series of portraits inspired by a life mask of William Blake - that is one of Creffield's greatest achievements.
Works
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Dennis CreffieldGreenwich from the Observatory 0816, 1959Oil on board71 x 91.5 cms
27 15/16 x 36 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldIsle of Dogs from Greenwich Observatory, 1959Oil on board72 x 92.5 cms
28 5/16 x 36 6/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldTowards the Isle of Dogs From the Greenwich Observatory, 1960Oil on board61 x 76 cms
24 1/16 x 29 14/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldStill Life with Skull, 1965Oil on board101 x 76 cms
39 12/16 x 29 14/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldThe London Group Exhibition 1965, 1965Oil on canvas121 x 151.5 cms
47 10/16 x 59 10/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldCanterbury Cathedral, North Side, 1966Charcoal on paper76 x 55.2 cms
29 14/16 x 21 11/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldDorothy Mead, 1973Oil on canvas76.5 x 63 cms
30 1/16 x 24 12/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldSelf Portrait, 1976Charcoal on paper59.5 x 42 cms
23 6/16 x 16 8/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldNorwich Cathedral, The West Front, 1987Charcoal on paper100 x 92 cms
39 5/16 x 36 3/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldCanterbury Cathedral, Interior I, 1988Charcoal on paper85.8 x 61 cms
33 12/16 x 24 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldExeter Cathedral, 1988Oil on canvas76 x 86.5 cms
29 14/16 x 34 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldGloucester Cathedral I, 1988Charcoal on paper101.5 x 92.5 cms
39 15/16 x 36 6/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldGloucester Cathedral II, 1988Charcoal on paper101.5 x 92.5 cms
39 15/16 x 36 6/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldGloucester Cathedral III, 1988Charcoal on paper92.7 x 101.5 cms
36 7/16 x 39 15/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldWorcester Cathedral, Interior II, 1988Charcoal on paper85.8 x 61 cms
33 12/16 x 24 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldDurham Cathedral, The Galilee Shrine of the Venerable Bede, 1989Charcoal on paper61 x 86 cms
24 1/16 x 33 13/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldNorwich Cathedral from the Cloisters, 1989Oil on canvas101.5 x 127 cms
39 15/16 x 50 ins -
Dennis CreffieldRipon Cathedral I, 1989Charcoal on paper59.4 x 84 cms
23 6/16 x 33 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldWestminster Abbey: South Porch, 1989Charcoal on paper76.4 x 56 cms
30 1/16 x 22 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldSt Pauls Cathedral from Clifford Chance, Aldersgate 1998, 1998Charcoal on paper76.2 x 55.9 cms
30 x 22 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldSt Pauls Cathedral from Clifford Chance, Aldersgate 1999, 1999Oilstick on paper76.2 x 55.9 cms
30 x 22 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldSt Pauls Cathedral from Clifford Chance, Aldersgate 1999, 1999Oilstick on paper55.9 x 76.2 cms
22 1/16 x 30 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (20), 2007Charcoal on paper55.8 x 37.8 cms
21 15/16 x 14 14/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (21), 2007Charcoal on paper40.64 x 30.48 cms
16 x 12 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (27), 2007Charcoal on paper42 x 29.6 cms
16 8/16 x 11 10/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (3), 2007Oil on canvas41 x 30.5 cms
16 2/16 x 12 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (32), 2007Charcoal on paper45.72 x 35.56 cms
18 x 14 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (4), 2007Oil on canvas41 x 30.5 cms
16 2/16 x 12 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (40), 2007Charcoal on paper56 x 38 cms
22 1/16 x 14 15/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (6), 2007Oil on canvas41 x 30.5 cms
16 2/16 x 12 1/16 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (31), 2008Charcoal on paper45.72 x 35.56 cms
18 x 14 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (38) SJB, 2008Charcoal on paper45.72 x 35.56 cms
18 x 14 ins -
Dennis CreffieldImprovisation on the Life Mask of William Blake (63), 2008Charcoal and pastel on paper30.48 x 22.86 cms
12 x 9 ins
Exhibitions
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Modern British Art 2022
29 Mar - 31 May 2022Read more -
Special Charity Fundraiser for The Trussell Trust
7 - 30 Dec 2020The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks to provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaigns for change to end the need for...Read more -
Special Fundraising Sale for the National Health Service
29 Mar - 29 May 2020Unfortunately, NHS Hospital staff, on the front line in the treatment of patients with Covid-19, are still working without the proper PPE (personal protective equipment), and there remains a shortage...Read more -
Dennis Creffield
Paintings of Innocence and Experience 18 Sep - 30 Oct 2015Dennis Creffield. Paintings of Innocence and Experience presents paintings spanning seven decades to trace the range of the artist's work from the 1940s, and his days in the classes of...Read more -
Twentieth Century British Art 2012
6 - 21 Dec 2012Artists whose work is presented include: Frank Auerbach Tony Bevan John Bratby Edward Burra Jake & Dinos Chapman Geoffrey Clarke Prunella Clough John Davies Eric Gill David Hockney Gary Hume...Read more -
Dennis Creffield. Jerusalem
7 Sep - 9 Oct 2011In the extensively illustrated publication that accompanies the exhibition, James Hyman explains the origins of these pictures: 'In May 2007, I paid a visit to Dennis Creffield's studio in Brighton...Read more -
Beyond the Human Clay
5 May - 18 Jun 2011In 1976 the great figurative painter and polemicist R.B. Kitaj organized a group exhibition for the Arts Council of Great Britain entitled The Human Clay. To mark the 35th anniversary...Read more -
A Tribute to Sir Colin St John Wilson
21 Nov - 1 Dec 2007James Hyman is proud to present a personal tribute to Sir Colin St John Wilson, one of Britain's greatest architects and art collectors of the last half-century. The exhibition follows...Read more -
Dennis Creffield. Body and Soul
2 Nov - 1 Dec 2007These drawings not only confirm Creffield's stature as one of the greatest draftsmen at work today but also capture the essence of what he does. Linking these two bodies of...Read more -
A Century of Drawing
Important modern British works on paper from the Camden Town School to Bridget Riley 2 Jul - 29 Aug 2003Read more
Publications
Events
Art Fairs