Description
Brian Hagger (1935 – 2006) – The Running Buck Pub 1964
Artist – Brian Hagger (1935 – 2006)
Title – The Running Buck Pub
Painted in 1964
Original Oil Paining on Board
Actual Painting Size – 48 x 24″ Inches
Supplied in Original Frame
The running buck pub was one of the first pubs in Ipswich, being built before 1689, Sadly the pub closed in 1991.
Biography
Painter in oil and watercolour, draughtsman in pencil and teacher, born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. He studied at Ipswich School of Art, 1952–6, then Royal College of Art, 1958–61, teachers including Colin Moss, Pif Fortin, Carel Weight, Ruskin Spear and Ceri Richards. Numerous mixed shows included RA Summer Exhibition, Phoenix Gallery in Lavenham and Highgate and with Norwich Twenty Group. Had a series of solo shows at Bramante Gallery, 1968–71; Thackeray Gallery, 1972–5; and Langton Gallery, 1976. Before his first solo exhibition, Hagger showed his oil on board cityscapes on the Green Park railings, self-effacingly signing them with an H. As he became successful he turned to canvas, put his prices up and signed with his full name.
When the American Oscar Lerman saw his work he offered Hagger an exhibition at the new Bramante Gallery. When Lerman returned to America and the Bramante closed, Priscilla Anderson keenly took him on at Thackeray Gallery. Between leaving College and 1976 Hagger produced around 350 marvellously evocative paintings of London, mainly of Fulham and the unfashionable end of King’s Road, Chelsea. He also painted Brighton, Norwich and the East Coast. In the mid-1990s, seeking a new theme, Hagger was concentrating mainly on drawing. Did occasional teaching, including Salisbury College of Art, and Great Yarmouth College of Art and Design, including adult education. Bolton Art Gallery holds his work. Lived latterly in Norwich, Norfolk.
