{{short description|English muralist of post-war public art 1930 - 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Alan Boyson | honorific_suffix = RCA | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1930 | birth_place = Marple, Stockport, England, UK | death_date = 19 August 2018 (aged 87–88) | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | monuments = | other_names = | education = | alma_mater = {{Plainlist| * Manchester Regional School of Art (1950–1954) * Royal College of Art (1954–1957) }} | occupation = {{Plainlist| * Lecturer in art * Artist * muralist *public art }} | years_active = | employer = Wolverhampton College of Art ({{circa|1959–60}}) | organization = | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | television = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | awards = | website = }}
'''Alan Boyson''', RCA (1930<ref name="SStar">{{cite web|url=http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=251|title=Salford Tree of Knowledge Saved|date=20 August 2009|work=Salford Star|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="Carr">{{cite news|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/hidden-treasure-artwork-is-discovered-in-denton-863719 |title=Hidden treasure: Artwork is discovered in Denton furniture store |last=Carr|first=Sue|date=23 June 2011|work=Manchester Evening News|access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> – 19 August 2018)<ref>[http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=4679 Alan Boyson, Creator of Salford Tree of Knowledge, Passes Away]</ref> was an English muralist and sculptor, who worked chiefly in glass,<ref name="C20Soc">{{cite web|url=http://www.c20society.org.uk/murals-campaign/37-alan-boyson-three-ships-italian-glass-mosaic-1963/|title=Alan Boyson, Three Ships, Italian glass mosaic, 1963|work=C20 Society Murals Campaign|publisher=20th Century Society|access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> ceramic and concrete.
Boyson studied at Manchester Regional School of Art from 1950 to 1954,<ref name=NHLE-1393433>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1393433|accessdate=7 November 2016}}</ref> and at the Royal College of Art from 1954 to 1957.<ref name=NHLE-1393433 /> He was subsequently a lecturer at the School of Ceramics in Wolverhampton College of Art,<ref name="C20Soc" /> during which time he established his own studio and began taking commissions.<ref name=NHLE-1393433 />
An Associate of the Royal College of Art, Boyson worked until {{circa|2004}}.<ref name=NHLE-1393433 /> As well as public works, he also made smaller pieces.<ref name="Roseberys">{{cite web|url=http://auctions.roseberys.co.uk/view-auctions/catalog/id/59/lot/39308/?url=%2Fview-auctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F59%2Flot%2F%3Fpage%3D3%26sort%3D1%26dir%3D0 |title=Alan Boyson RCA, British mid-late 20th/early 21st century- ''Tree No 2''; ceramic sculpture, signed, titled and dated 1977 on the underside |publisher=Roseberys |access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref>
When his mural ''The Tree of Knowledge'', at the former Cromwell Secondary School in Salford, was given statutory protection by English Heritage, they said:<ref name=NHLE-1393433 />
{{Blockquote|It has a high level of aesthetic and artistic quality represented in a bold and striking composition}}
Boyson's Hull murals are the subject of an arts and film project<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenews.coop/130761/topic/history/new-documentary-tell-story-hulls-iconic-co-operative-heritage-mural/|title=Hull Coop News|date=11 August 2018 }}</ref> titled ''Ships in the Sky''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://shipsinthesky.weebly.com/|title=SHIPS in the SKY Arts Project Homepage |website=shipsinthesky.weebly.com |access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref> by Hull filmmaker Esther Johnson,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blanchepictures.com/|title=Blanche Pictures — work by Esther Johnson |access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref> working with Untold Hull<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://untoldhull.org/ShipsInTheSky|title=Ships in the Sky|date=2018-12-14 |website=Untold Hull |access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref> at Hull Central Libraries. The project invites the public to contribute memories and memorabilia related to the Hull Coop building and Boyson's murals. The project has been written about by House of Mirelle<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://houseofmirelle.uk/2019/02/16/s-o-s-give-your-memories-of-hulls-co-op-bhs-and-3-ships-mural-to-save-our-ships/|title=S.O.S. Give Your Memories Of Hull's Co-Op BHS and 3 Ships Mural to SAVE OUR SHIPS!|date=2019-02-16|website=The House Of Mirelle Hull 1938-1978|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref> and in Tribune Magazine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tribunemag.co.uk/2019/05/hulls-ships-in-the-sky|title=Hull's Ships in the Sky |website=tribunemag.co.uk |access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref>
== Works == [[File:Salford's Tree Of Knowledge - geograph.org.uk - 1450336.jpg|thumb|''The Tree of Knowledge'' ]] [[File:King Edward Street - Jameson Street Junction - geograph.org.uk - 540557.jpg|thumb|''Three Ships mural mosaic'' ]]
Boyson's works include: <!-- Date order where known --> * decorative features and font, The Church of the Epiphany and St John, Corby (1960–1961)<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1414359|accessdate=7 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://locusiste.org/buildings/629/epiphany/|title=Epiphany, Corby|work=Locus Iste|access-date=8 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109021451/http://locusiste.org/buildings/629/epiphany/|archive-date=9 November 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> * ''The Tree of Knowledge'', Salford (1962; Grade II listed in 2009)<ref name="BBC-ToK">{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8211000/8211755.stm|title=Salford's Tree of Knowledge saved|date=20 August 2009|work=BBC Online|access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> **a ceramic tiled wall for the entrance hall of the same building (since lost)<ref name="SStar" /> *Three Ships mural mosaic (1963; locally listed; Grade II listed 2019<ref name="C20Soc" />) on the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (and later a BHS), in Kingston upon Hull.<ref name="HCC">{{cite web|url=http://www.hullcc.gov.uk/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/HOME/PLANNING/CONSERVATION/LOCAL%20BUILDINGS%20LIST/LOCALBUILDINGSLIST_AUGUST2016.PDF|title=Local buildings list|publisher=Hull City Council|access-date=7 November 2016}}{{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The 66 ft by 64 ft (20m x 19.5m) glass mosaic mural is on the exterior of the building (with two further murals inside). In 2019 there was an online petition<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/HullHeritageAG/|title=HULL HERITAGE ACTION GROUP|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref> to get this mural Grade II listed by Historic England. Grade II listing was announced in November 2019.<ref name="GradeII-ThreeShips-Nov2019">{{cite news |title=Hull Three Ships mural: BHS mosaic granted Grade II listed status |work=BBC News |date=22 November 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-50515763 |access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref> * Fish mural<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theculturevulture.co.uk/cultures/alan-boyson-murals/|title=ARCHITECTURE {{!}} I Saw Three Ships... new exhibition and film about Hull's threatened Boyson murals {{!}}|last=Mudd|first=Neil|date=2018-09-04|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref> (1961) inside the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (later a BHS), in Kingston upon Hull. This mural was made for the corridor outside the Skyline Ballroom on the fourth floor of the building. The mural depicts a shoal of fish and was rediscovered in 2011 by Christopher Marsden,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marsden|first=Christopher|title=Christopher R Marsden; Anything with Anything: An introduction to the art and craft of Alan Boyson, Journal of the Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society, 2010 vol 16, pp 31-44|url=https://www.academia.edu/29562150|language=en}}</ref> a leading authority on Boyson *Geometric sponge-print tile mural<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/third-forgotten-mural-could-still-2016389|title=A third 'forgotten' mural could still be inside Hull's old Co-op|last=Young|first=Angus|date=2018-09-18|newspaper=Hull Daily Mail|access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref> inside the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (later a BHS), in Kingston upon Hull. This mural was discovered in 2018 as a result of production for ''Ships in the Sky''<ref name=":0" /> * concrete screens, City Arcade, Lichfield (1963; lost)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://issuu.com/editor999/docs/1-56_aug_13-1|title=City Arcade Becomes 50 Years Old|date=August 2013|work=Lichfield Gazette|page=40|access-date=9 November 2016}}</ref> * glass-tile mural, Parkfields Cedars Grammar School (now Price Charles Avenue campus of Derby College), Derby (1969; now hidden behind partition wall)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/readers-help-solve-mural-site-puzzle-8211-saved/story-11620397-detail/story.html |title=Readers help solve mural site puzzle – but can it be saved? |date=22 February 2010 |work=Derby Telegraph |access-date=9 November 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> * glass screen and decorative ceiling, Halifax Building Society headquarters, Halifax (1970s)<ref name="NHLE-1393433" /> * stainless steel sculpture, NatWest Tower, London (late 1970s)<ref name="NHLE-1393433" /> * abstract stained-glass window, St Ann's Church, central Manchester<ref name="BBC-ToK" /> (church is Grade II listed<ref name="NHLE-1393433" />) * mural, Co-operative Insurance Society Building, Manchester<ref name="BBC-ToK" /> (building is Grade II listed<ref name="NHLE-1393433" />) * ceramic memorial, Birmingham Oratory<ref name="NHLE-1393433" /> (restored 2010<ref name="Jackfield">{{cite web|url=http://www.jackfieldconservation.co.uk/a-selection-of-past-and-recent-projects/|title=A Selection of Past and Recent Projects|publisher=The Jackfield Conservation Studio|access-date=9 November 2016}}</ref>) * pyramids, Concourse Shopping centre, Skelmersdale (lost)<ref name="ModernismNW-1">{{cite web|url=https://modernismnorthwest.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/alan-boyson-a-discussion/|title=Alan Boyson – Sculptor of Skelmersdale New Town's Pyramid|date=9 February 2012|work=Modernism North West|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108054026/https://modernismnorthwest.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/alan-boyson-a-discussion/|archive-date=8 November 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> * mural, Queen's Hotel, Collyhurst<ref name="ModernismNW-2">{{cite web|url=https://modernismnorthwest.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/alan-boyson-creator-of-the-skelmersdale-pyramid/|title=Alan Boyson's work in Manchester|date=8 February 2012|work=Modernism North West|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108054454/https://modernismnorthwest.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/alan-boyson-creator-of-the-skelmersdale-pyramid/|archive-date=8 November 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> * sculptured aluminium banking hall ceiling, Bank House (Bank of England), Leeds (since removed)<ref name="NHLE-1419336">{{National Heritage List for England|num=1419336|accessdate=9 November 2016}}</ref> * concrete frieze, Merseyway Shopping Centre, Stockport<ref name="ModernismNW-2" /> * fourteen ceramic Stations of the Cross and three holy water stoops, St Raphael's Church, Huddersfield Road, Millbrook, Stalybridge, Manchester (grade II listed; closed 2011)<ref name="ModernismNW-2" /><ref name="NHLE-1406451">{{National Heritage List for England|num=1406451|accessdate=8 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="Carr2">{{cite news|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/church-closes-doors-as-repair-bill-865439|title=Church closes doors as repair bill rockets|last=Carr|first=Sue|date=13 July 2011|work=Manchester Evening News|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref> * tiles, George Cusick's greengrocery store (now in different ownership), Ashton Road, Denton, Manchester<ref name="Carr" /> * concrete screen at Pendleton (now Salford) College<ref name="SStar-Kick">{{cite news|url=http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=1005|title=Salford Tourists Kick in the Teeth|date=12 June 2011|work=Salford Star|access-date=9 November 2016}}</ref> * untitled mural, register office (former), Cygnet House, Gravesend, Kent<ref name="C20-Gravesham">{{cite web|url=http://www.c20society.org.uk/murals-campaign/39-alan-boyson-untitled-ceramin-tile/|title=Alan Boyson, Untitled, Ceramin Tile|publisher=Twentieth Century Society|access-date=9 November 2016}}</ref> * mosaic, Wombwell School for Girls, Gravesend (missing)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gravesendreporter.co.uk/news/lost_valuable_ceramic_prompts_schools_hunt_1_600008|title=Lost valuable ceramic prompts schools' hunt|date=3 March 2010|work=Gravesend Reporter|access-date=9 November 2016}}</ref> * fibreglass sculpture, shopping centre Swinton, Greater Manchester (lost)<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Liverpool University Press| isbn = 978-0-85323-567-5| last1 = Wyke| first1 = Terry| last2 = Cocks| first2 = Harry| title = Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester| date = 2004 |page=169}}</ref> * designs (unused) for reliefs at Spring Gardens Post Office, Manchester<ref name="Gallagher">{{cite news|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/help-hayley-solve-riddle-manchester-6496697|title=Can you help Hayley solve riddle of the Spring Gardens Post Office murals?|last=Gallagher|first=Paul|date=12 January 2014|work=Manchester Evening News|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == {{commons}} * {{Cite journal|volume=16|year=2010|journal=TACS Journal|publisher=Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society|first1=Christopher R.|last1=Marsden|title=Anything with Anything: An introduction to the art and craft of Alan Boyson|url=https://www.academia.edu/29562150}} * {{Cite journal |journal=Glazed Expressions |publisher=Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society |issue=66 |date=Summer 2010 |first1=Christopher R. |last1=Marsden |title=Conservation – Alan Boyson panel}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyson, Alan}} Category:1930 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Place of birth missing Category:English muralists Category:Associates of the Royal College of Art Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Art Category:People from Marple, Greater Manchester Category:People from Stockport