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Almine Rech

Christopher Le Brun

"There aren’t any reasons for painting. That’s what is special about it. It doesn’t need justification. It’s essential that it is not used for other purposes. All the things which will, as it were, take away from what is mysterious about it." 

Sir Christopher Le Brun (b. 1951, UK) is one of the leading British painters of his generation, celebrated internationally since the 1980s, making both figurative and abstract work in painting, sculpture, and print. He was an instrumental public figure in his role as President of the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 2011 to 2019. Since 1990 he has served as a Trustee of major British institutions at Tate, National Gallery, Dulwich Picture Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and was a founding Trustee of the Royal Drawing School. He was awarded a Knighthood (Knight Bachelor) for services to the Arts in the 2021 New Year Honours.  

Le Brun trained at the Slade and Chelsea Schools of Art, London. In his early career, he was a double prize winner at the John Moores exhibitions (1978, 1980), also showing in the Venice Biennale (1980) and the ground-breaking exhibition 'Zeitgeist' (1982) at the Martin-Gropius Bau, Berlin. His work is in many museum collections including Tate, London, UK; Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art & Urban Planning (MoCAUP), Shenzhen, China; British Museum, London, UK; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland; The Whitworth, Manchester, UK; Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing, China; Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, USA; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, USA. Le Brun’s public sculptures include Union (horse with two discs) at the Museum of London; City Wing on the site of the original London Stock Exchange and The Monument to Victor Hugo in St Helier, Jersey. 

His recent solo exhibitions have been held at Lisson Gallery, Beijing, China (2024); Albertz Benda, New York, USA (2023, 2020, 2017); Lisson Gallery, London, UK (2022, 2018); Albertz Benda, Los Angeles, USA (2022); Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing, China (2021); Lisson Gallery, Shanghai, China (2019); Southampton City Art Gallery, UK (2018).  

  • Biography

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Selected artworks

  • Christopher Le Brun, Double Diptych (Spring etc.), 2021

    Christopher Le Brun Double Diptych (Spring etc.), 2021

    Oil on canvas
    150 x 602 cm
    59 x 237 in
    Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning (MoCAUP), Shenzhen, China

  • Christopher Le Brun, Kingdom, 2015

    Christopher Le Brun Kingdom, 2015

    Oil on canvas
    240 x 170 cm
    94 1/2 x 66 15/16 in
    Collection of the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, US

  • Christopher Le Brun, L’Horizon Chimérique, 2015

    Christopher Le Brun L’Horizon Chimérique, 2015

    Oil on canvas
    240 x 170 cm
    94 1/2 x 66 15/16 in
    Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, US

  • Christopher Le Brun, Walton, 2013

    Christopher Le Brun Walton, 2013

    Oil on canvas
    240 x 170 cm
    94 1/2 x 66 15/16 in
    Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, US

  • Christopher Le Brun, White Triptych, 2021

    Christopher Le Brun White Triptych, 2021

    Oil on canvas
    140 x 391 cm
    55 x 154 in
    Collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, US

Selected press