GERALD WILDE

Gerald Wilde attended Chelsea School of Art where he was taught by the painter, Graham Sutherland and sculptor, Henry Moore. His work was widely admired and respected by fellow artists Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach and critics such as John Berger, David Sylvester, Tim Hilton, William Feaver and Martin Harrison.

In 1979 October Gallery opened with an exhibition of Gerald Wilde and has since remained committed to bringing Wilde to the attention of a wider audience in the firm belief that he has yet to achieve full recognition as a major British artist of the 20th century. From the intensity of his early work, through to the liberation in such series as Pompeii to the more colourful world of his later years, as well as in the Intelligence Now series – Wilde confronts us on an abstract level as well as on the level of symbols and dreams. David Sylvester wrote, ‘His work has the exhilaration of a disaster just averted.’ And with this capacity to create a chaotic world precariously held in check, Wilde would seem remarkably contemporary in his approach. John Berger stated that, ‘The trapped in all of us can respond to these works because they strive for release.’ His artwork serves as both prophetic and as a prayer. ‘A painter like Gerald Wilde is born to his own visionary dimensions.’ Joyce Cary During the 1940s and '50s the Hanover Gallery and the ICA hosted solo exhibitions of Wilde’s work and, in 1977 the Serpentine Gallery held a retrospective of his work. Three paintings by Wilde are in the Tate collection and he counted Sir Kenneth Clark, Sir Edward Marsh and Peter Watson amongst his private collectors.

For sales enquiries please contact: Or call + 44 (0)20 7242 7367
View below for career highlights and works for sale by the artist.