08.09.07 - 30.09.07

Willy Tirr was born in Stettin, Germany in 1915 He fled the Nazis in 1938, settling in England at the age of 23.  After internment in England and Australia he joined the army and ended the war in the Intelligence Corps.  In the 1950’s and 60’s the taught at the Leeds College of Art, and painted in a small studio, he had built himself, adjoining his house in Leeds.  In 1970 he began teaching as lecturer and later became Head of Fine Art at Leeds Polytechnic, where he stayed until his retirement in 1981.

His work has been exhibited internationally in numerous venues around Britain, United States, Canada, Germany, Israel, Switzerland and Australia.  The Metropolitan University, which has since taken the place of the Polytechnic, offers a Willy Tirr prize for the most promising student in watercolour and landscape painting each year.

Willy Tirr has explored and experimented with a variety of media and techniques including large shaped canvases in oil and acrylic.  However, it is his substantial watercolours which make his important contribution to contemporary landscape painting. These are inspired by visits to the dramatic, harsh scenery of Yorkshire, such as Ingleborough and Great Whernside