
Victor Linford
21st of May 1940 - 6th
of December 2002
Victor has left this world into
his next landscape
You can waste thousands of words
explaining Victor’s art,
But the images will remain to
tell the true story of craftsmanship, dedication and imagination.
Victor’s friends and
admirers have kindly established the Victor Linford
Foundation
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Victor
was born 21st of May 1940 in Mile End London as Victor Harrison. Harrison was the name of his adoption father. His natural
father was unknown. When his mother left Mr. Harrison, she changed her name to Linford so Victor became Victor Linford-Harrison
and later Victor Linford.
Victor
was sent to the Norwood Home for Jewish Children in 1951. One of his
schoolmasters recognized his artistic talent and later Victor was accepted to
the Camberwell school of arts and crafts. He received
his National diploma in Design in august 1960 with painting as his special
subject.
After
some traveling to Sweden Victor moved to the Netherlands in order to work there,
marry and raise a family. After some
factory jobs, he succeeded in establishing himself as an artist. The first
discernable artistic period coincides with Victor’s stay in the local vicarage
with his in-laws in Spankeren, a small village near Arnhem. This period
started with rather dark drawings and paintings about social issues or even
parenthood mixed with commissioned portraits and landscapes. Halfway the
sixties Victor, his wife Mienke and son Christiaan moved to an old farmhouse where he built a
studio in the stables. Meanwhile his work had evolved to rather fantastic
landscapes, nudes and vivid (though not always flattering) portraits. Two
daughters, Lilian and Victoria were born and Victor
diligently worked on his exposure while showing a natural aptitude as a Bon
Vivant as well. He exhibited in many galleries in the Netherlands and in 1972 and 1973 traveled to Tel Aviv and
Haifa. Also in
1972 he moved to Nijmegen
after his divorce. Here the “Nijmegen”
period started where his landscapes became even more detailed and impressions
of his travels to France
were absorbed into his world. In 1974 Hein Steehouwer
wrote his book “Meta-Realisten”, launching a group of seven artists as a new painting “popgroup”.
Victor was one of this group and there were exhibitions, radio and television
broadcasts. Victor worked in Nijmegen
and traveled to France
for the rest of his career. The paintings became even more detailed and multicoloured. He was working on a commission for a series
of zodiac paintings when, at the 6th of December 2002, driving home
after a celebratory dinner with Victoria’s family, his hart
stopped and the “Victorian era” in the Netherlands ended prematurely.
Christiaan Linford
*Please note: I do not trade in Victor’s paintings. If you want to buy
or sell a painting By Victor Linford, you can use art
dealers, auctions and auction websites.
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Photo by William van Gool