Graham Isom was born in 1945 at Farnborough, Kent, England. His father kept a riding stable in Essex and later took up farming in Devon, providing a solid background in country living, horses and dogs which would later contribute to his son's success as a sporting artist. Isom evidenced an early interest in the arts, and enrolled at the then-new Ravensbourne College of Art. At the end of the four-year course, in which he studied art in general and sculpture in particular, he was qualified to teach, but spent most of the next year as a groom in stables on Dartmoor. After teaching for five years, Isom was sufficiently successful with his private commissions to devote all of his time to painting. For two years, he specialized in figure studies. Then, when he moved to rural Somerset and renewed his acquaintance with the saddle, he was encouraged to focus primarily on equestrian subjects. His powerful studies of horses in action, whether hunting, racing or on the polo field, have brought him many admirers. Over the years, Isom has continued to enjoy extraordinary recognition for his work, both in the United States and Britain. He is a multi award-winning equestrian artist with an obvious love for his subject, described by Portfolio magazine as a painter "who is breaking new ground by combining an eye for thrilling sporting action with the finest attributes of this demanding and specialized art". Isom has won numerous awards including the American Academy of Equine Arts "Best in Show" and "Best Sporting Painting" awards. His painting of Desert Orchid winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup was selected by the American Academy of Equine Art for its fall exhibition at the Kentucky Derby Museum and was awarded the "Founders Prize for Oil Painting." Isom has, "swept the board" at the British Society of Equestrian Artists exhibition in the Great Room at Christie's. His oil "On the Rails" was honored with the Fores "Best Sporting Picture" award and Horse & Hound magazine's "Best Racing Picture" prize, while the Lyra-UK prize was awarded for his pencil sketch "Racing at Newbury."
Regular exhibitions throughout the UK and USA, together with his acceptance into both the 'American Academy of Equine Art' and the 'Society of Equine Artists', have resulted in his work being collected around the world. His painting, "The Prince of Wales Cup", featuring Prince Charles playing polo, was auctioned in Florida in aid of the Friends of Conservation charity for $29,000.
Charles Lane, writing for Horse & Hound, said: "Graham Isom's style is always changing, if almost imperceptibly, and a recent less-rigid delineation and softer use of colour now gives his paintings much more warmth than in the past, without detracting from a tremendous ability to paint horses in action." Return to Prints |
