CLARKE Brian 1953-2025

Painter and stained glass designer born in Oldham, Lancashire, the son of a coal miner. He studied at Oldham Art School, Burnley College of Art and Bideford Art School, 1965-72, gaining a first-class degree with distinction from the latter. By 1973, he had set up his studio in Preston, working both as a painter and stained glass designer. In 1974 he was awarded the Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship to study contemporary stained glass in Western Europe.

In 1979, he was the subject of a BBC television Omnibus documentary, and he held solo exhibitions at Mayor Gallery, London, in 1990 and 1993. He has completed architectural projects in Europe, America and the Far East and his more unusual commissions include designing the stage sets for Paul McCartney's New World Tour of 1993. Other stained glass commissions include windows at the King Khaled Airport in Riyadh. In 1993 he was made an honorary RIBA and he is also Professor of Architectural Art at University College, London and an Executor of the Estate of Francis Bacon. His work is in the collection of the Stained Glass Museum and Museums Sheffield.