Brian Hargreaves

Brian Hargreaves (right) with Arthur Smith & Family. Early 1950s.

Brian Hargreaves FRSA, FRES (1935-2011) was an English artist and scientific illustrator, known for his depictions of Lepidoptera.

Early life

Hargreaves was born on 27 May 1935 at Sutton-in-Craven, Yorkshire. He was educated at Keighley Grammar School, Keighley School of Arts and Crafts and Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts.

Career

Hargreaves early career was in church restoration; he gilded the lantern ball and cross that sits on top of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.

He became the first artist to illustrate every one of the butterflies of Britain and Europe, doing so in the book Butterflies of Britain and Europe, which was eventually published in nine languages, and in the United States.

He enjoyed fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Entomological Society, and the Free Painters and Sculptors, as well as membership of the Guild of Lettering Craftsmen.

His works have been used on the postage stamps of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Gabon, Norfolk Island, and Togo.

His painting Butterfly: Large Blue is in the Royal Collection. It was a gift to Queen Elizabeth II from the Royal Entomological Society in 2002, to mark her Golden Jubilee.