Myles Murphy

Myles Francis Martin Murphy (14 February 1927 – 16 November 2016) was an English painter known for his mathematical approach to depictions of the human figure which he learned at the Slade School of Art where he later taught. In 1954 he was seriously burned while painting himself in a wedding dress but subsequently won the Slade diploma prize for the portrait he was working on at the time. In 1974, he won the John Moores Painting Prize for Figure with Yellow Foreground.

Early life Myles Murphy was born on 14 February 1927 in Bury, Lancashire, into a Catholic family of eight children. His parents intended him to train as a doctor but instead he was influenced into art by L. S. Lowry who was teaching evening classes in Bury. The taxi finally broke down outside Rome central station where the two students were assisted by a cleric from the Vatican who stored the vehicle in the Vatican's basement.

Career Figure with Yellow Foreground. Oil on canvas, 1974. . Tate Gallery, London. In 1959, Murphy became a teacher at the Slade School of Art and in 1960, senior lecturer at Chelsea College of Arts, His students included Patrick Caulfield and Cherry Pickles. He continued to paint, often destroying or reusing his canvasses and ignoring their commercial or critical value.

In 1974, he won the John Moores Painting Prize for Figure with Yellow Foreground which the Tate Gallery describes as showing "a sophisticated balance of observed detail and abstract, flat planes of colour."

In 1981, he became the principal of Wimbledon School of Art until retiring in 1987.

Personal life In 1977, Murphy married Dawn Martin who had first been introduced to him by Euan Uglow as a model. The couple had two daughters, Inez Murphy and Sian Murphy.

Murphy died of pneumonia on 16 November 2016 at the age of 89. He was survived by his wife and children.

Selected group exhibitions Group exhibitions included: 1952, Young Contemporaries, Tate Gallery, London. 1960, Modern British Portraits, Arts Council, London. 1964, New Painting, Arts Council, London. 1974, 9th John Moores Liverpool Exhibition. 1994, Five Protagonists: Craigie Aitchison, Anthony Eyton, Patrick George, Myles Murphy, Euan Uglow, Browse and Darby, London. 2005, Three Points of View, Myles Murphy, Patrick Symons, Euan Uglow, Browse & Darby, London.