Tom Hallifax
| Tom Hallifax | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 (age 51–52) |
| Education |
Eton College St Andrew's University |
| Alma mater | University of Ulster |
| Known for | Gurning self-portraits |
| Website | tomswork |
Tom Hallifax (born 1965) is an Anglo-Irish contemporary artist who came to prominence in 1993 when his gurning self-portraits were used to publicise the National Portrait Gallery's BP Portrait Award Exhibition. Hallifax, who has lived and worked in Belfast, London, and in a remote cottage on an island off Donegal, currently resides in Dorset.
Hallifax grew up in Hampshire, the descendant of three generations of Admirals. He was educated at Eton and St Andrew's University (1984–1988), where he read Art History, before studying Fine Art at the University of Ulster from 1989 to 1992.
In 1994, Hallifax was commissioned by the Prince of Wales to paint Derek Hill and the garden at Highgrove for the Prince's Trust when he completed a portrait of Chris and Lavender Patten on a visit to Hong Kong as Royal Tour Artist.
As a portraitist, his commissions have included The Prince of Wales, the last Governor of Hong Kong (Chris Patten), the Lord Mayor of Belfast (Sammy Wilson), the Chancellor of the University of Ulster (Julia, Baroness Neuberger), Professor Dame Ingrid Allen (Belfast University), John Diamond and Nigella Lawson. Recent work has been mainly figurative, with series including Irish tractors, running chickens and ugly dogs, all painted on a heroic scale. Hallifax continues to paint self-portraits in which he is often "unattractive, or strange, or both".
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