Adam Birtwistle at Kings Place Gallery

Described as 'one of our most distinguished portrait painters in what is, presently, a Golden Age of Portraiture in Britain', Adam Birtwistle is known for his deeply revealing portraits. Instead of the flattering conventions of eighteenth century Grand Manner portraiture, Birtwistle diminishes the grandeur and deflates the ego of everyone who sits for him. Born in 1959, Adam Birtwistle is the son of the composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle. In 2000, he was invited to paint portraits of six composers, including Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Janac'k, Britten and again his father, Sir Harrison, whose operas were featured during the 2001 Glyndebourne Festival. He has subsequently painted portraits of artists David Hockney, Craigie Aitchison and Peter Blake.