David Shepherd
Born in Hendon, London on the 25th of April in 1931, Richard David Shepherd has spent his childhood in Totteridge in North London. The only recognition he has received as a child for his talent in art is an award he won at the age of six, in a children’s painting competition in a magazine called “Nursery World”. He attended Stowe School in Buckinghamshire and his earliest ambition was to become a game warden in Kenya. Therefore, upon finishing school he left for Kenya where he was rejected and returned to London where he had to choose either to drive a bus for a living or to pursue a career in art.
David Shepherd Artist
In London he was yet again rejected by the Slade School of Fine Art. However he had the opportunity to work with Robin Goodwin, a professional artist and three years later he started his own work as a painter. His love for aviation led him to join the Royal Air Force and there he was commissioned to work on his very first wildlife painting in Kenya. His career took of with his first exhibition of wildlife paintings which he held upon his return to London and was considered as one of the most financially rewarded painters of his time.
Extremely popular for his paintings on wildlife, Shepherd had also established a name as an outspoken world known conservationist of the 20th century.
His interest to become a conservationist was triggered when he came across a large numbr of dead zebras around a poisoned waterhole and it led him to form The David Shepherd Conservation Foundation, which he claims to have established as a tribute to the animals he painted and to protect them.
Paintings
David Shepherd’s most significant paintings of steam engines include “Zambezi Sawmills Railway”, “Guildford Steam Sheds”, and “Heavy Freight ‘69” that are available in signed limited edition prints. His best known wildlife paintings available in signed limited edition lithograph include titles such as “Tiger in the Sun”, “Cool waters”, “Wise Old elephant” and “Lonely Vigil” to name a few. His work has been reproduced in print form and other media such as Wedgwood limited edition plates since the 1960s and during that time he was considered as one of the most financially rewarded painters of his time.
Publications
David Shepherd has written several books on his artistic career and his paintings including “Painting with David Shepherd” that helped bringing David Shepherd closer to the admirers of his artwork worldwide. In 1995, October he published two of his latest books, “My Painting Life” and “Only One World”.
Awards/Achievements
For his contribution to the conservation of wildlife, David Shepherd was awarded the Order of the Golden Ark by HRH the Prince of The Netherlands and the Order of the British Empire in 1979.
He was also awarded an Honorary Degree in Fine arts by the Pratt Institute in New York in 1971 and, in 1973 and in 1988, for his distinguished service and was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1989.
News
Shepherd Wildlife Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009 having raised almost £5 million to save critically endangered wildlife and every year they organise a marathon to raise invaluable funds to help save these endangered wildlife.
In addition to that, their annual Wildlife Artist of the Year competition is permanently scheduled on the art calendar as 9th September 2010. David Shepherd, at 77 still completes about 50 commissions a year.