Art in Nobles Hospital
3 Cats / Studies of Fred (1992)
Dame Elizabeth Blackadder RSA RA
Elizabeth Blackadder did many of studies of cats over her long career. Cats are notoriously difficult to draw, she filled sketchbooks with drawings of her feline friends. Fred is remembered as a friendly cat who was happy to cosy up on any available lap.
"At first I thought, how can you make a drawing of a cat without it just being pretty or sweet? Then I began to look at other people who'd painted cats beautifully like Bonnard, Gwen John and Manet - the Egyptians and Japanese rendered them unsentimentally, too, of course. And I thought, it is possible."
Dame Elizabeth Blackadder
Bat (1995)
Bryan Kneale MBE RA
Bryan Kneale was born in Douglas and studied at the Douglas School of Art. He was a painter, incredibly talented in sculpture and a well-respected teacher. The three legs sculpture on the front of the Hospital is one of his works of art.
Rhinoceros (1995)
Bryan Kneale MBE RA
Bryan Kneale was a Manxman. His father, William Kneale, who was the editor of the newspaper ‘The Mona’s Herald’ and his mother Lilian (nee Kewley) were both from long-settled Manx farming families.
Grey Horse Head (1990)
Dame Elisabeth Frink CH DBE RA
Dame Elisabeth Frink was an English sculptor and printmaker. She was part of a post-war group of British sculptors.
It has been said she can capture “the 'horseness' of horses” in her work. This is definitely a very horsey horse.
Bird Form (Full Face) / Owl (1968)
Graham Sutherland OM
This artwork conveys natural characteristics of an owl; you can feel the mischievousness of the bird!
Red Frog (1995)
Bryan Kneale MBE RA
Bryan Kneale studied at the Douglas School of Art. In 1974, Kneale became the first abstract sculptor to be elected a Royal Academician.
Ram (1978)
Julian Trevelyan RA
Julian Trevelyan was an English artist, poet and teacher. Trevelyan was the head of printmaking at the Royal College of art where he taught notable artists including David Hockney.
