Born in Leeds in 1938, Norman Ackroyd attended the Leeds College of Art and then trained at the Royal College of Art where he studied under Julian Trevelyan. Norman produced works in a range of media but was most prolific in etching and is considered one of Britain's most celebrated printmakers.
Norman’s love of landscape was nurtured by long boyhood bicycle rides in the Yorkshire Dales. He would take ink, plate and acid into the field in order to, as he put it, get to the root of ‘the things that stirred me’. The metal plate can be worked on directly, the acid painted on as if a watercolour, and the 'bite' stopped by a quick rinse in a stream or a wipe on the wet grass, giving a freedom and immediacy which produces truly captivating images.
Throughout his career Norman won a number of awards for his work: the South East States Open Exhibition, Carolina, USA in 1969, the Bradford International Print Biennale in 1972 and 1982, the Royal Society of Etchers and Engravers in 1984 and 1985, and the Frechen Triennale, Germany in 1986. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1988, was made Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art in 2000 and was made CBE for services to engraving and printing in 2007. He lived and worked in Bermondsey, London.
Read Eames Fine Art director Rebecca Eames's personal tribute to Norman Ackroyd here.