Video
Abrahams discusses his exhibition at the RA
Ivor Abrahams RA discusses his 2011 Royal Academy show Mystery and Imagination, which brought together his Edgar Allan Poe and Edmund Burke print portfolios from the 1970s.
Ivor Abrahams RA (1935 - 2015)
Ivor Abrahams studied at St Martin’s School of Art under Anthony Caro from 1952 to 1953 and at Camberwell School of Art under Karel Vogel from 1954 to 1957. He was apprenticed at the Fiorini Art bronze foundry in 1957 and went on to work as a display artist for Adele Rootstein. After extensive travel in Europe, he became a visiting lecturer in Sculpture at Birmingham College of Art and Coventry College of Art between 1960 and 1964. He was a visiting lecturer at Goldsmiths College of Art, the Royal College of Art (Prints Department) and the Slade School of Art; from 2007 – 2010, he was Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools.
Ivor Abrahams’s first show was with Peter Blake at the Portal Gallery in 1960. He also exhibited in the landmark 22 Young Sculptors at the ICA in 1961. His first US solo show was with Richard Feigen Gallery in 1970. Abrahams established his international reputation with a major museum show at the Kolnisher Kunstverein, Cologne, in 1973. He went on to have solo shows in museums and private galleries in Europe and the United States. These included a major retrospective at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 1984.
Recent solo exhibitions were held at the RA in the Tennant Gallery (2011), and the Mayor Gallery, London in 2013.
Profile
Born: 10 January 1935 in Wigan, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Died: 6 January 2015
Nationality: British
Elected ARA: 31 May 1989
Elected RA: 26 June 1991
Elected Senior RA: 1 October 2010
Professor of Sculpture: 2007 - 2010
Gender: Male
Visit Ivor Abrahams RA (1935 - 2015)'s website
Preferred media: Sculpture and Printmaking
Works by Ivor Abrahams in the RA Collection
25 results
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Figure study]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Figure study, 1985-86
Gouache on paper
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Figure study]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Figure study, 1985-86
Gouache on paper
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Studies for sculpture]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Studies for sculpture, Summer 1957
Pen and ink on white paper laid on black paper
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Sketches for sculptures and photographs of skulls and of a plaster cast being taken of a face]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Sketches for sculptures and photographs of skulls and of a plaster cast being taken of a face, Summer 1957
Pen and ink and wash on paper with black and white photographs attached
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Domain of Arnheim]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Domain of Arnheim, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, A Dream within a Dream]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
A Dream within a Dream, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Masque of the Red Death]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Masque of the Red Death, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Acrobats double sided]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Acrobats double sided, 1982
Bronze & aluminium
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Ligeia]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Ligeia, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, A Predicament]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
A Predicament, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Man that was Used Up]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Man that was Used Up, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Premature Burial]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Premature Burial, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Pit and the Pendulum]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Pit and the Pendulum, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Conqueror Worm]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Conqueror Worm, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Sphinx]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Sphinx, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Raven]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Raven, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Alone]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Alone, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Silence - A Parable]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Silence - A Parable, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Sleeper]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Sleeper, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Philosophy of Furniture]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Philosophy of Furniture, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Xing a Paragrab]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Xing a Paragrab, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, The Haunted Palace]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
The Haunted Palace, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Morella]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Morella, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Lenore]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Lenore, 1976
Screenprint
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![Ivor Abrahams RA, Hen]()
Ivor Abrahams RA
Hen
Silver
Works associated with Ivor Abrahams in the RA Collection
1 results
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Gallery
![Ivor Abrahams RA, Acrobats double sided]()
Ivor Abrahams RA, Acrobats double sided, 1982.
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Ivor Abrahams RA - Selected CV
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Recent Solo Exhibitions
2013 Mayor Gallery, London
2012 Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2011 Tennant Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts
2007 Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Canary Wharf, London
Iain MacKenzie Fine Art, London
2001 A P Gianini Gallery, San Francisco, from Bank of America Collection (Prints)
1999 Royal Academy of Arts, London (prints retrospective)
Mayor Gallery, London
Ian Mackenzie Fine Arts
1995 Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London (sculpture retrospective – 5 decades) -
Selected Collections
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol
Arts Council of Great Britain
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
Bradford Art Gallery and Museum
British Council, London
Buymans Museum, Rotterdam
City Museum and Art Gallery, Portsmouth
Denver Museum, Colorado
Liechtensteinische Staatliche Kunstsammlung, Vaduz
Metropolitan Museum, New York
Minneapolis Art Institute
Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Sharjah Art Museum, UAE
Tate Gallery, London
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Wedgwood Museum, Stoke-on-Trent
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