Richard Wawro (14 April 1952 – 22 February 2006) was a Scottish artist notable for his landscapes in wax oil crayon. He was an autistic savant.

Life

Wawro was the son of Tadeusz and Olive Wawro; his father was a Polish military officer and civil engineer who had settled as a librarian in Fife, Scotland and his mother a Scottish primary schoolteacher.

In 1970 the Edinburgh impresario Richard Demarco "discovered" Wawro, then aged 17, and exhibited his works in his gallery. His story was presented on the BBC's Nationwide programme. The report was shown a second time as one of the programme's highlights of that year. In the early 1970s one of his London exhibitions was opened by Margaret Thatcher, then Education Minister, who bought several of his pictures, as did John Paul II.

Wawro died in Edinburgh of lung cancer on 22 February 2006.

Works

Wawro worked in the unusual medium of wax oil crayon, specialising in landscapes and seascapes that were acclaimed for their highly detailed and dramatic images of intense depth and colour. He used no models, but drew from images seen only once, such as in books or on television; his phenomenal memory enabled him to recall where he drew each picture and to date it precisely in his mind. Although possessing perfect recall, he often added his own touches to the images. He was particularly inspired by light, and the tones he used to capture light and shadows are considered masterly.

A collection of nine of Wawro's drawings was featured on an episode of BBC's Antiques Roadshow, filmed at Thirlestane Castle and broadcast on 22 September 2024. Wawro's brother gave some biographical information.

See also

  • Stephen Wiltshire

References

Sources

  • Wawro's website
  • Biography
  • Gallery Images of a selection of his paintings