Tony Carter (1943-2016)
Tony was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1943. He studied at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne under Richard Hamilton and graduated in 1966. He was awarded and MA from the University of Reading in 1968. His first group exhibition was with ‘Young Contemporaries’ at the Tate Gallery (1967, Peter Stuyvesant Foundation Prize). He subsequently exhibited at the ‘Northern Young Contemporaries’, Whitworth Gallery, Manchester (1968, Peter Stuyvesant Foundation Prize); the ‘Art Colleges Exhibition’, FBA Galleries, London (1968, Reeves and Company Purchase Prize); Hayward Gallery (1976); Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (1977); Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (1982). He won Arts Council Major Awards (1975 and 1980). Solo shows have been held at Garage Ltd, London (1975); Anthony Stokes, London (1979); Serpentine Gallery (1983); Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (1989). He received an exhibition at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, to commemorate his 1990-91 tenure as the Henry Moore Artist Fellowship at Kettle’s Yard and Christ’s College, Cambridge. He was Principal Lecturer at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts from 1986 to 1989, and also taught at Goldsmiths’ College. In 1998 he was appointed Head of Fine Art at City & Guilds of London Art School, becoming Principal in 2000; he retired in 2014. He died in 2016 and is survived by his partner Wendy Smith. Since his death Wendy Smith has donated a number of his works to galleries across the UK, including the Tate and The University of Warwick. He is represented in the collections of the Arts Council and the Leeds Museum and Gallery.
Selected Works
| Title | Year | Materials | Size | Collection |
| The Faithful One | 1967-68 | wood and perspex | 84in high (21 3.5cm) | |
| Two levels | 1969-70 | normal bead mercury bead and marble | actual level size 12 x 1½ x 1½in (30.5 x 4 x 3cm) | |
| Repaired surface – the old GWR’s Royal route to the west | 1969-70 | oil paint on synthetic filler over jigsaw puzzle | 11¾ x 20in (30 x 51cm) | Arts Council |
| Resurrection | (Original form 1971-72. New version 1981-82) | fibre-glass ellipses cellulose containers stem-spotlight | ||
| Case – a description of non-use (aka Case – a description of prolonged non-use (on four sides) | 1972-73 | sealed leather sewing case overlaid with synthetic filler and oil paint | actual size of case 9¼ x 5 x 2½in (26 x 12.5 x 6.5cm) | Tate |
| A shroud for Van Gogh – seed growth and bloom (3 parts) | 1973 | Pencil drawing and photographic enlargement onto photosensitive linen | Cast silver buttons 1978 | |
| Arc – the mould and cast of a warp implied by the strain of a bow | 1973-75 | oil paint on synthetic filler photographic print marble slabs | 9¾ x 15 x¾in (25 x 38 x 2cm) | |
| Remembering Landscape | 1974 | pencil and gouache on paper | 65.3 x 53.6cm | Arts Council |
| Pavlova – description of a photographic oddity with a process analogy | 1974-75 | oil paint on synthetic filler over photographic print petrified bone | 11½ x 18in (29 x 46cm) | |
| Mnemonic | 1975 | photographic negatives, glass, leather and wood | 2 parts, each, 64 x 38 x 33cm | Arts Council |
| Flag | 1975 | Oil and fabric on Canvas | 500 x 490 mm | Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge |
| A sword for Don Quixote – for blade hierarchy | 1976 | heat treated table knife organic residue | ||
| Elysium – for newsprint distortions | 1976-77 | oil paint on synthetic filler over newsprint image mounted on wooden drawing board | approx. 9 x 5in (23x 13cm) | |
| A sword for Don Quixote – for blade history | 1977 | stone bronze and ivory | length 10in (25.5cm) | |
| Season song – Spring turning | 1977-78 | precision engineered tuning forks one bronze one steel | length 11in (28cm) each | |
| By bread only – for the demise of icons | 1978-79 | saucepan with engraved base brass wire rim reflected light white painted panel and easel | Henry Moore Foundation (Leeds Museum and Gallery Collection) | |
| Virus – of war and subjective seeing | 1979-82 | oil paint over photographic print 3 easels (3 easels, painted wooden chair and oil paint on photographic print with printed text) | easels extended to approx. 90in (228.5cm) | Tate |
| Blue flame – Athanor | 1981-82 | paraffin heaters charcoal slate slabs etc | ||
| Point of Balance | 1983-6 | Sicilian marble, glass spirit-level unit, steel weight and MDF shelf | 41.3 x 91.4 x 22.8cm | |
| Crook – On Wishing the Miracle of Unspilled Blood | 1984-5 | 2 black and white photographs, printed text and graphite on paper, acrylic tube (perspex), rifle cartridge (.303 bullet), stainless steel stopper, red wine, brass knife blade | Displayed: 2185 x 2590 mm | Tate |
| Pressure Point 1 | 1987 | MDF, aluminium, steel, gold, leather and paint | 236.2 x 162.6 x 21.6cm | Arts Council |
| Angelus 3 | 1989-90 | MDF, glass, copper, bronze, miniature ‘G’ clamps | 72.5 x 80 x 38.5cm | |
| Angelus 4 | 1989-90 | MDF, glass, aluminium, pewter, miniature ‘G’ clamps, keys | 72.5 x 80 x 38.5cm | |
| Vine | 1990 | Bordeaux wine bottle, water, metal clamp, cast metal wall fitting | 5cm30.5 x 38 x 1 | |
| Desert | 1990-1 | MDF, emulsion, water canteen, glass bead with trapped air bubble | 183 x 91.5cm | |
| American Dream | 1990-1 | MDF, full and empty wine bottles, water canteens, bronze casts, bronze sheet | 122 x 671 x 61cm | |
| American Dream/Arabian Night | 1990-1 | Acrylic and emulsion on canvas, MDF, full and empty wine bottles, water canteens, bronze casts, bronze sheet | 345 x 427 x 61cm | |
| Black Flag | 1991 | MDF, webbing loop with ratchet, c. 38 x 2 pence coins, matt and gloss paint | 34.5 x 43 x 35.5 | |
| Crown of Thorns (J Robert Oppenheimer’s Dilemma) | 2011-14 | Fire extinguisher, steel ruler, stars, eagle | 2210 x 230 | University of Warwick Art Collection |
| Epiphany | 2013 | Mixed media metal cross | 100 x 61 x 15.5cm |