BIOGRAPHY
DAVID CREGEEN MA. M.Phil (Edin)
David Cregeen is British of Manx, English and Scottish descent. He was educated in England, Canada and Scotland graduating from Edinburgh University in 1976 with a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology and Master of Philosophy.
Having concurrently completed a special course in sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art he moved to Florence where he studied at The Accademia di Belle Arti and the Scuola Libera del Nudo. Returning to London in 1979 he collaborated with London’s leading contemporary Modern Dance company, Ballet Rambert for a number of years.
In 1980 he was commissioned by former Dutch Resistance to sculpt a posthumous head of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the Leader of the Dam Busters who was shot down over Holland in 1944. The portrait head was presented to the 617 Squadron Association in Rotterdam in recognition of the contribution the RAF made to the liberation of Holland.
The work from his period with Ballet Rambert formed the basis for his first solo exhibitions at The Mananan International Festival of the Arts in 1981 followed in the same year by the Edinburgh International Festival.
In 1982 he was awarded The Grollo d’Oro in Treviso, Venice, for a sculpture inspired by The Chosen Maiden’s last solo in Rambert’s revival of ‘The Rite of Spring’ this was followed by his taking part in the exhibition 'Britain Salutes New York' in New York and in 1986 in the GLC sponsored exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall, ‘Humanism in Contemporary British Sculpture’.
That same year Dr Arthur M. Sackler invited Cregeen to undertake the prestigious project he named 'Faces in History', a series of 20 portrait heads of leading personalities of our time. These included Queen Elizabeth II as Head of The Commonwealth, President Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, President Gorbachev, Baroness Thatcher, Professor Stephen Hawking, Professor Linus Pauling, posthumously President Anwar Sadat, Prima Donna Maria Callas and Dr Martin Luther King Jnr.
Amongst those many other portraits he has sculpted from life are Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, King Charles III and Queen Camilla, King Michael and Queen Ann of Romania, and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria.
In 1990 while working and exhibiting internationally Cregeen made his home and principle studio in Southern Turkey. In Turkey amongst other portrait heads he has undertaken are a posthumous bust of President Turgut Ozel,1993, and in 1997 he sculpted the leading Turkish Businessman and philanthropist Sakip Sabanci followed by a memorial to the Sabanci Family eight portrait busts of the family for The Sakip Sabanci Museum in Istanbul (2007) and also one of Erol Sabanci for AK Bank at Sabanci Holdings, Istanbul.
In 2006 his solo exhibition at The Royal Commonwealth Society, London, held to commemorate The 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, was viewed by the late Queen.
He is currently finalizing work for both ‘Faces in History’ and the relaunch and of the international touring exhibition, ‘Eternal Image: A Journey: in Anatolia’ it having been first shown with leading Turkish photographer Timurtas Onan in Istanbul and other venues in Turkey before coming to The Pavilion Gallery. The Royal Geographical Society, London, 2007.
In 2010 he took part in '-Istanbul European City of Culture' creating a sculpture to commemorate the city.
Since 1986 David Cregeen has had over 30 solo exhibitions world-wide including New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Monaco, Istanbul and Side (Antalya).
His work is found in many public and private collections including The Royal Collection, London; The National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC; The Smithsonian Institution; The Arthur M Sackler Collections New York; Middle Temple, London; The Sakip Sabanci Museum Istanbul; Haci Omer Sabanci Holdings, Istanbul; Barclays Bank PLC; Banque PNB Paribas; Garanti Bankasi; The Universities of Edinburgh, Harvard and Bucharest; and The private collections of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prince Al-Waleed of Saudi Arabia, The Rt Hon and Mrs Tony Blair, Mukesh Ambani and John Studeniski. see 'WORK IN COLLECTIONS'
Working on the portrait head of Queen Camilla (at the time Duchess of Cornwall) at Clarence House. 2006
Photo Edward Wolkey.
Working on the figure of Oberon for a group sculpture inspired by Britten's opera 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in the court yard of the studio in Southern Turkey. Photo Edward Wolkey.