Harold James Cleworth
   


About Harold Cleworth:
Born in the industrial North of England during the Second World War, Cleworth quickly developed a love for the aesthetics of machinery and began painting the local "Orwellian" landscpe. Several one man shows were held in local pubs and libraries during his teenage years.
Graduating from the prestigious Manchester College of Art in 1967, he moved to London to work for Decca Records, illustrating the first album covers for the Rolling Stones, the Who, and other new groups.

In 1972, frustrated with the London scene, a trip to California convinced him to stay and begin his career as a fine artist, choosing the Automobiles, hs first love since childhood, as the subject. A series of posters followed, amongst them te black 300 SL Gullwing mercedes, which rapidly became the most popular automobtive image on the market.

The Chase Manhattan Bank of Zurich bought his first original, and private collectors began to commision him to paint portraits of their Bgattis, Duesenbergs and Ferraris. Galleries invited him to exhibit in Sanfrancisco, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Carmel.

After the press discovered him, stories appeared in all the automotive journals AutoWeek dubbed him "the painter laureate of the car" and the LA times ran his life story.

Corporate commission followed from Ford, Cevrolet, Saab Isuzu and Lincoln Mercury all of whom desired portraits to introduce their new models.

Poster were produced for the LA and Chicago Auto Shows and the annual Newport Beach Concours D' Elegance, at which he is an honorary judge. The "Cleworth Award" is presented at the event to the car of his choice.

Cleworth has firmly established himself as one of the world's leading 'auto-biographers' whose trademark of super-realsm has become instantly recognizable and whose twenty year dedication to the subject has proved enormously successful.

 

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