John Wonnacott Hon. RP CBE

John Wonnacott was born in London in 1940 and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1958-63. John taught drawing at Reading University and the Norwich school of art until 1985. He was represented by Marlborough Fine Art from 1980-88 and by Agnews from 1988-2011. John’s paintings are included in many public as well as private collections: notably the Metropolitan Museum New York, Tate Britain, Imperial war Museum, National Maritime Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Cambridge University and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown.

In 2000 he was awarded CBE.

September 5th 2022 Sir Charles Saumarez Smith’s book ‘John Wonnacott A Biographical Study’ by Sir Charles Saumarez Smith published by Lund Humphries September 5th 2022

PRICE GUIDE

Oil

30 X 20 inches £35,000

48 X 36 inches £50,000

60 X 48 inches £65,000

96 X 72 inches £85,000

120 X 96 inches £120,000

Large group portraits up to £180,000

Drawing
A4 £10,000

A3 £15,000

This is a rough fee-guide for a single portrait. Frame, travel & accommodation expenses, and VAT are not included. For groups and non-standard sizes please ask for a quote.

METHOD OF WORKING

I work directly from life and need 6 one-hour sittings. Further working requirements to be discussed with the client.

Royal Family. – A Centenary Portrait  (NPG)

with separate portrait studies of each of the Royal Sitters (Highgrove)

Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin in the Painted Hall.  (NMM)

The Rt Hon Sir John Major, Downing St. (NPG)

Sir Adam Thompson (SNPG)

Sir Edwin Manton (Tate & Clark)

The Most Reverend & Right Honourable Stephen Cottrell

Mel and Elaine Merrian

Count Aldo Brachetti Peretti

4 taipans of Jardine Matheson

with separate portraits of Sir Henry Keswick, Simon Keswick, Lord leach and Bobby Kwok

Jessica Douglas Hume

Tim Wonnacott and family

Oliver Ford Davis

James Fairfax AO

Professor Lynda Morris

Professor Bernard de Neuman

Charlie Gordon – William Grant & Sons

Janet Sheed Roberts aged 110

Lord Blythe, Charman of Boots

Stephen Evans Film Producer

Selected Solo Exhibitions:
 1977 The Minories, Colchester
 1978 Rochdale Art Gallery and Tour
 1980 Marlborough Fine Art, London
 1985 Marlborough Fine Art, London
 1986 Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
 1988 Marlborough Fine Art, London
 1992 Agnew’s, London
 1996 Agnew’s, London
 1998 Wolsey Art Gallery, Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich
 1999 Hirschl and Adler, New York
 2000-1 The Royal Family making a centenary Portrait, National Portrait
Gallery
 2005 Agnew’s London
 2011 Agnew’s London
 2012 Clare Hall Cambridge
 2012 St John’s College Oxford
 2013 Chambers Fine art New York
 2014 Norwich Castle Museum (with John Lessore)
 2019 Focal Point Gallery Southend

Selected Group Exhibitions:
 1971 Painting and Perception, The MacRoberts Arts Centre Gallery,
University of Stirling
 1974 British Painting ’74, Hayward Gallery, London
 1977 Queen’s Jubilee Exhibition of British Painting, Royal Academy London
 1980 Take 4, Kettles Yard Cambridge
 1983 Britain Salutes New York, Marlborough Gallery, New York
 1984 The Hard-Won Image, Tate Gallery, London
 1986 – 87 Foundation Veranneman invites Marlborough, Foundation
Veranneman, Kruishoutem, Belgium
 1989 Monet to Freud, National Art Collections Fund Loan Exhibition,
Sotheby’s, London
 1989 Salute to Turner, National Trust Foundation for Art, Agnew’s, London
 1990 The Pursuit of the Real, British Figurative Painting from Sickert to
Bacon, Manchester City Art Galleries, The Barbican Art Gallery, Glasgow
City Art Gallery
 1992 The New Patrons, Twentieth Century Art from Corporate Collections,
National Art Collections Fund, Christie’s, London

 1995 Contemporary Portraits from Suffolk to Essex, Gainsborough’s House,
Sudbury, Suffolk
 1995 Contemporary British Artists Celebrate One Hundred Years of the
National Trust, Christie’s, London
 1997 Presentation of The Hon John Major commission: Prime Minister;
Downing Street. National Portrait Gallery
 2000 The School of London and their Friends, The Collection of Elaine and
Mel Merian’s, Yale Centre for British Art, 11th October 2000 – 14th January
2001 and Neuberger Museum of Art, 28th January 2001 – 22nd May
 2001 A Sea of Faces, National Maritime Museum.
 RP Annual 2005-2022
 2007 Merian’s Collection, Christie’s, London
 2007 Venice City of Dreams Sotheby’s London
 2014 A Tribute to Hogarth at Hogarth House
 2014 Royals Then and Now, Beningbrough Hall

 2022 Hillsborough Castle

A selected group of Royal Family Portrait studies have been on continuous
exhibition in the Orangerie at Highgrove since 2005