The work of Noel Forster

Few British painters laid bare the mechanics of painting as Noel Forster did. His paintings, with characteristic, arc-like gestures weaving primary coloured surfaces of light, are difficult to categorise, appearing ether too painterly, analytical or organic to be included under such labels as concrete art, systems art, or, process painting. (Source: The Times)

A leading 20th Century British fine artist, Noel Forster studied painting at King’s College Newcastle. He painted in London and France and taught at various art schools including Chelsea, Camberwell, the Slade, Saint Martins, Ealing, Walthamstow, Ipswich and Salford. He held a visiting professorship at Minneapolis School of Art and two artist-in-residence roles at Balliol College and Musee de l’Abbaye Sainte-Croix in France. Noel was a John Moores First Prize winner in 1978 and exhibited throughout the UK and at the Kunsthalle in Basel, Switzerland, the United States and Greece (see biography).

This website has been developed and is owned by the Noel Forster Estate and is subject to copyright laws. Should you have any queries related to painting, print or image sales please contact us. We hope you enjoy this site.

Artist Noel Forster at work in his studio

"Noel was in my view the most important post-War abstract painter in England and his work combined performance, intellectual rigour and the artist's craft. It was simultaneously clever and sensuous. He was an influential teacher too and a very gifted musician. But he was also larger than life."

"Noel was a splendid friend and a wonderful painter. He thought endlessly about the relations of paint and light and talked with extraordinary clarity - and complexity - about making works of art. He taught me a lot about looking. The ideas behind his own work were intricate and uncompromising."

"Noel Forster was an adventurous and productive artist whose glowing, audacious personality looked out from his canvasses."