St. Helens Star
Portrait of the artist - Paul's top art world honour
Artist Paul Critchley (21) has had a dash of colour added to his life after walking off with The Stowells Trophy in this national competition held at The Royal Academy of Art.
Paul, whose home is in Rainford now a student at Coventry Polytechnic has won with this prestigious title a prize of £400 and a sparkling silver salver.
The competition is open to the major colleges in the country who submit work by students and the award is given for a particular painting. Paul's was a portrait if himself in his lodgings at Coventry, one of a series on this theme.
The 5' x 4' canvas shows Paul surrounded by the flat walls of his room. He is a former pupil of Rainford High School and then attended a Foundation Course at St. Helens College of art & Design, where his father is principal.
Thrilled.
Mr. Harold Critchley, his proud father, said; "Paul is thrilled to have won this award. He is a figurative painter which is not especially popular at this moment but he has stuck to his style and now feels justified in doing this. But I do feel figurative painting is coming back into fashion. At the moment Paul is in his final year and is torn between painting and sculpture. This is an accolade and he is very proud to have won it".
Bronzes.
In a couple of weeks, Paul will be exhibiting two bronze statues at the Manchester Academy in the Gallery of Modern Art. He has also exhibited with The Northern Contemporaries and New Contemporaries, from which he sold paintings.
Paul will receive his prize from Marina Vaizey, art critic of The Sunday Times.
11.3.1982
Coventry Evening Telegraph
Honours for Art Students
Three Coventry art students who scooped the honours in a major competition held at The Royal Academy of Arts - Ian Marchant, Paul Critchley & Trevor Roberts.
Paul, a 3rd year student at Coventry Lanchester Polytechnic, was the overall winner of The Stowells Trophy exhibition, which is open to students from art schools all over the country.
Fellow students Ian and Trevor also exhibited works at the week long show, which attracted more that 4,000 visitors.
8.4.1982
St. Helens Star
Paul wins trophy and £400
Paul Critchley, the 21 year old son of the St. Helens College of Art & Design Principal has won The Stowells Trophy competition for art students - and with it a £400 prize.
Mr. Critchley whose painting of an interior perspective was chosen from 126 entries, lives at Higher Lane Rainford. His mother is an art lecturer at St. Helens College.
A 3rd year art student at Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry, Mr. Critchley plans to return to Merseyside this summer and make his life in this area.
He exhibited in the I.C.A. Contemporaries in London in 1980 and the Northern Young Contemporaries at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, in 1979. Last year, he had a painting accepted by the Manchester Academy and two bronze busts are being exhibited at this years summer show.
The entry that won the competition, Afraid of The Dark, was exhibited last week at The Royal Academy of Arts, London.
8.4.1982
