Victor Linford Harrison, 1972 - Nud and Fantasy. Oil on a wooden board. 29.5 * 29.5 cm.

Victor Linford Harrison, 1972 - Nud and Fantasy. Oil on a wooden board. 29.5 * 29.5 cm.
Victor was born 21st of May 1940 in Mile End London as Victor Harrison. Harrison was the name of his adoption father. His natural father was unknown. When his mother left Mr. Harrison, she changed her name to Linford so Victor became Victor Linford-Harrison and later Victor Linford. Victor was sent to the Norwood Home for Jewish Children in 1951. One of his schoolmasters recognized his artistic talent and later Victor was accepted to the Camberwell school of arts and crafts. He received his National diploma in Design in august 1960 with painting as his special subject. After some traveling to Sweden Victor moved to the Netherlands in order to work there, marry and raise a family. After some factory jobs, he succeeded in establishing himself as an artist.

The first artistic period coincides with Victor’s stay in the local vicarage with his in-laws in Spankeren, a small village near Arnhem. This period started with rather dark drawings and paintings about social issues or even parenthood mixed with commissioned portraits and landscapes. Halfway the sixties Victor, his wife Mienke and son Christiaan moved to an old farmhouse where he built a studio in the stables.

Meanwhile his work had evolved to rather fantastic landscapes, nudes and vivid (though not always flattering) portraits. Two daughters, Lilian and Victoria were born and Victor diligently worked on his exposure while showing a natural aptitude as a Bon Vivant as well. He exhibited in many galleries in the Netherlands and in 1972 and 1973 traveled to Tel Aviv and Haifa. Also in 1972 he moved to Nijmegen after his divorce. Here the “Nijmegen” period started where his landscapes became even more detailed and impressions of his travels to France were absorbed into his world. In 1974 Hein Steehouwer wrote his book “Meta-Realisten”, launching a group of seven artists as a new painting “popgroup”. Victor was one of this group and there were exhibitions, radio and television broadcasts. Victor worked in Nijmegen and traveled to France for the rest of his career. The paintings became even more detailed and multicoloured. He was working on a commission for a series of zodiac paintings when, at the 6th of December 2002, driving home after a celebratory dinner with Victoria’s family, his hart stopped and the “Victorian era” in the Netherlands ended prematurely.

Christiaan Linford