CHRISTOPHER INSOLL
Born 1956

• 1975-78 Longcrofts Chartered Accountants.
• 1978-79 Chelsea School of Art.
• 1979-82 Falmouth School of Art.
• 1981 Exchange student at Camberwell School of Art.
• 1983 Offered an M.A. at Sussex University but decided to stay in Cornwall.
• 1985 Started the Artists Co-operative and Gallery in Portscatho, also at this time started Art dealing and a small amount of teaching.
• 1996 Elected Member Chelsea Arts Club.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS HAVE INCLUDED: 

• 1983 The Mid Cornwall Gallery, St.Blazey, Cornwall.
• 1984 Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall.
• 1985 Royal Academy of Arts Sumer Show, London.
• 1986 The Penwith Society of Arts, St. Ives, Cornwall.
• 1988 The Salon des Acceptes, Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk.
• 1989 The St.Austell Arts Centre, St.Austell, Cornwall.
• 1990 Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall. Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance, Cornwall. Truro City Museum and Art Gallery, Truro, Cornwall.
• 1990-5 Broad Street Gallery, Penryn, Cornwall.
• 1991 Tate Gallery fund raising Auction, Penzance, Cornwall. The Court Gallery, ‘IMAGES OF THE WEST COUNTRY’ Somerset.
• 1992 Llewellyn Alexander Gallery ‘NOT THE ROYAL ACADEMY’ London. The Court Gallery, ‘RURAL ENGLAND’ Somerset. The Carousel Gallery, Avon.
• 1992-3 Galerie Gama Deauville, France. Galerie du Port Trouville, France.
• 1993 Paris Salon, Grand Palais, Paris, France. Catto Gallery, London.
• 1994 The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol. White Lane Gallery, Plymouth. Alberti Gallery, Cork Street, London. Antwerp Lentesalon 94, City ART EXPO, Antwerp, Belgium.
• 1994-5 Osborne Studio Gallery, Cork Street, London.
• 1995 The Penzance Arts Club, Penzance, Cornwall. Hicks Gallery, London.
• 1996 The Hyde Park Gallery, London. Art for Healing, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, Cornwall.
• 1997 David Cross Fine Art, Bristol. Royal Academy of Arts Sumer Show, London. The Carousel Gallery, Avon. The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol.
• 1998 Llewellyn Alexander Gallery ‘NOT THE ROYAL ACAEMY’ London. Utopia Gallery ‘ARTISTS FROM PORTSCATHO’, West Sussex.
• 2000 Osborne Studio Gallery ‘THE ROSELAND COASTLINE’ Belgravia, London.
• 2001 Retrospective exhibition ‘PAINTINGS ABOUT PAINTING’, Falmouth Art Gallery, Falmouth, Cornwall.
• 2002 Affordable art fair Battersea, London. Falmouth Art Gallery ‘SEASIDES’ Falmouth, Cornwall. Osborne Studio Gallery May and November Belgravia, London.
• 2003 Christies ‘ART FOR LIFE’ London. Veryan Galleries ‘VALERIE’ Veryan, Cornwall. St. Lukes Hospice Charity Auction.
• 2004 Truro Art school, Truro, Cornwall. Osborne Studio Gallery ‘THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS’ Belgravia, London.
• 2005 Nicola Smith Fine Art Surrey. Falmouth art gallery ‘Matisse’ Falmouth. Cornwall.
• 2007 Falmouth Art Gallery March-April ‘Portrait of a Cornish Art Colony’.
• 2007 November Helped organize and contributed to Drawing exhibition at Artonomy Fine Art, Truro,
• 2008 January New Acquisitions Falmouth Art Gallery
• 2008 August New Acquisitions Royal Institution of Cornwall, Truro.
• 2009 August Belgrave Gallery St. Ives with Eric Ward
• 2010 Trewinnard Sketchbook Club Exhibition. Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro
• 2011 British Impressionists June – September Falmouth Art Gallery
• 2011 Falmouth Frameworks September – November Falmouth Art Gallery
• 2011 September – October Life .. The Gallery Surrey. Portscatho The Art Colony
• 2011 Belgrave Gallery St Ives, Summer and Winter mixed shows
• 2013 29 June – 14 September Falmouth Art Gallery Making Faces
• July 2012 – My Cornwall Art Guide, Front cover.
• 2015 November – Belgrave St Ives and The St Ives Society of Artists
• 40 years of painting. Camberwell students and teachers 1945-1985
• 2017 IMS Prussia Cove charity Art auction London
• 2018 May – Elected Honorary member St Ives society of Artists
• From 2018 exhibited in all St Ives society exhibitions.
• Nov 2019 -Jan 2020 Falmouth Art Gallery Imagine Falmouth Exhibition.
• Jan 2020 – March 2020 Falmouth Art Gallery A sharp pencil, exhibition of drawings.
• Summer 2021 – My Cornwall Art Guide, Front cover.
• October 2023- January 2024 Truro Open (Spirit of Cornwall) Cornwall Museum. Winner People’s choice.

CATALOGUES, BOOKS AND OTHER PUBLISHED WORK: 

• 1992 Artists from Cornwall, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol.
• 1993 Biography and Illustration, British Contemporary Art. Paris Salon Catalogue, France.
• 1995 Art Prices Review, Spring Issue. Art Business Today August Issue.
• 1997 Travel Weekly (USA) front cover February Issue. Saturday Telegraph September 20th letter.
• 1998 Panorama Internazionale d’Arte 1998 (Italian Arts Directory). Art Business Today, June Issue. Home and Life Magazine, September Issue.
• 1999 The Artist Magazine, November Issue. Chelsea Arts Club Year Book.
• 2000 International Artist Magazine October Issue.
• 2001 Chris Insoll Paintings about Painting Catalogue, Falmouth Art Gallery, Introduction by Sarah Dury, ISBN 903913013
• 2002 Galleries Magazine Nuts and Bolts February Issue. Galleries Magazine Soapbox November Issue.
• 2003 One day for Haileybury studio photograph. Mr and Mrs Smith Hotel Guide. International Artist Magazine Oct/Nov Issue.
• 2004 Cornwall today, June Issue. West Briton, July. Whistler, Chelsea arts club magazine March Issue.
• 2005 Jackdaw Dec 04/Jan 05 and Oct 05, Artists and Illustrators January and August Issues. British Airways In-flight Magazine, Highlife October Issue.
• 2006 Who’s who in Art 32nd Edition.
• 2006 Posers Falmouth Art Gallery collection volume 7, ISBN 1-903913-14-4
• 2006 Art+Artist magazine feature September Issue.
• 2006 Artists in Britain since 1945 by David Buckman Artdictionaries Ltd. Revised edition ISBN 13:9780953260959.
• 2006 PORTSCATHO: portrait of a Cornish Art Colony by Chris Insoll. Publisher Halsgrove ISBN:9781841145426.
• 2007 ST.Ives 1975-2005 by Peter Davies St.Ives printing company+publishing Co. ISBN:97809483385456.
• 2007 Oil paintings in public ownership in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly published by the Public Catalouge Foundation. ISBN 1-904931-31-6.
• 2011 Falmouth Frameworks by Brian Stewart, Lynn Roberts and Paul MitchellSansom & Co ISBN 978-1-906593-75-9
• 2013 Susan Scates. Manchester Art Fair
• 2013 St Ives Society of Artists, Christmas Open
• 2020 Echoing the Times.
• Peter Davis Reviews from The St Ives Times and Echo by Peter Davis 2020
• June 2020 My Cornwall magazine Through the eyes of Chris Insoll
• July 2020 My Cornwall Art guide Portscatho’s hidden Art Haven
• Oct/Nov 2021 My Cornwall magazine Through the eyes of Chris Insoll
• Oct/Nov 2022 My Cornwall magazine 1922 The Art of Portraiture

October/November  2021 My Cornwall magazine Through the eyes of Chris Insoll

CRITICAL REVIEWS AND PRESS COVERAGE:

• West Country TV. BBC Radio Cornwall. Several local newspapers and magazines in Cornwall and Normandy, France.
• From 2006 West Briton, Jackdaw magazine, Western Morning News, Galleries Magazine, Cornwall Today, Inside Cornwall, Falmouth Packet, Cornwall Review.
• 2007 St.Ives Times+Echo. Peter Davies
• 2013 February Issue Cornwall Today
• 2010-2013 Chris ran the Trewinnard sketchbook club at Truro’s Royal
• Cornwall museum, raising funds for the Royal Institute of Cornwall
• 2013 Guest curator St Ives society of Artists Christmas open exhibition
• 2019-2022 My Cornwall Magazine

PRIZES AND AWARDS:

• 1992 Prize-winner, La Federation National de la Culture Francaise, Deauville, France.
• 1995 Gallery Co-op shortlisted to final 4 in the annual Fine Art Trade Guild Retail Design Award.

EVENTS:

• From 2001 various workshops Falmouth Art Gallery.
• 2003 Henry Moore Exhibition, opening speech, Falmouth Art Gallery, Cornwall.
• Pentreath and Little Owls trust workshops, Falmouth art gallery.
• 2006 Co selector Draws On drawing exhibition, Falmouth Art Gallery.
• 2010-2013 Chris ran the Trewinnard sketchbook club at Truro’s Royal
• Cornwall museum, raising funds for the Royal Institute of Cornwall
• 2013 Guest curator St Ives society of Artists Christmas open exhibition

Publications by or including Chris Insoll

• Portscatho
  A portrait of a Cornish Art Colony by Chris Insoll
  (Halsgrove October 2006)
  ISBN 9781841145426
• Artists in Britain since 1945 by David Buckman
  Art Dictionaries Ltd (enlarged edn 2006)
  ISBN 13 9780953260959
• Paintings about Painting
  Chris Insoll by Sarah Drury pub2001
  ISBN 1 903913 01 2
• Who’s Who in Art 32nd Edn & Subsequent Editions
  ISBN 0904722414 Hilmarton Manor Press 2006
• Dictionary Of International Biography 2010
  35th Edition
  ISBN 9781903986356
• St. Ives 1975 – 2005
  Art Colony in Transition by Peter Davies
  ISBN 9780948385-45-6, St Ives Printing and Publishing Co, 2007
  Biography and illustrationincluded in St Ives 1975-2005
• Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Oil Paintings in Public Ownership
  ISBN 1-904931-30-8, The Public Catalogue Foundation 2007
• Falmouth Frameworks by Brian Stewart, Lynn Roberts and Paul Mitchell Sansom & Co ISBN 978-1-906593-75-9
• Various book reviews for Galleries Magazine and The Artist Magazine