Patrick Procktor was born in Dublin in 1936. After the death of his father in 1940, Patrick was brought by his mother and maternal grandparents in London and Brighton.
In 1958 Patrick Procktor attended the Slade, where he was influenced by William Coldstream, Keith Vaughan, William Townsend, Claude Rogers, Robert Medley and others, developing dark, figurative work. Upon graduating from the Slade, Patrick travelled to Italy and Greece, travels which formed the inspiration for his first exhibition. All of the paintings in this exhibition sold before the opening.
Several of Cecil Beaton's photographs of Patrick Procktor are in the National Portrait Gallery and Patrick's own 1967 pen and ink drawing of playwright Joe Orton is also in the Gallery's collection. Despite being gay, in 1973 Patrick married a widow neighbour and restaurateur, Kirsten Benson. She sold her restaurant (Odin's) to Peter Langan, and Patrick Procktor, David Hockney, Frances Bacon and Lucien Freud all provided paintings to hang on the walls of the restaurant in return for hospitality.
Patrick Procktor’s international exhibitions have included the Galleria del Cavallino in Venice (1972 and 1986), the Galerie Biedermann in Munich (1976, 1989 and 1992), the IAM Galleria, Lisbon and Le Cadre Gallery, Hong Kong (1987 and 1993), Galleria Ghelfi (1990), Galerie Coard, Paris (1992) and Tokyo Art Fair/Galerie Enatsu (1992). His work is held in public collections by The Arts Council, The Contemporary Arts Society, The Imperial War Museum (London) and Los Angeles County Museum. He was elected Royal Academician in 1996. Patrick Procktor died in August 2003.
