It’s not entirely uncommon for the artist’s story to often be more fascinating (or equally so) than the art itself. This is very much the case with American oil painter Peregrine Heathcote. Heathcote is famous for his unruly biography, so to speak. He started out by garnering the title of youngest-ever student at London’s Heatherly College of Art, at the tender age of eight. He took classes in print-making and nude drawing, which, as you can well imagine, were a hit with his school-aged colleagues upon his return to the Berkshire prep school he regularly attended. He is the son of an antiques dealer and so accustomed to growing up amid ‘stuff’, generically speaking.
Heathcote’s father was particularly taken with military insignia, uniforms, canons of all sorts and relics from famous battles, while the young Heathcote preferred his collection of hats from around the world to Disney characters and toys. At ten years old, the painter inherited a 1938 Arthur Mulliner Rolls Royce from his grandfather – yet another colorful character. Said forerunner was the no less famous owner of the 20 Ghost Club and used the car for literally traveling all around the world. Nowadays, Peregrine is a celebrated artist with a distinctly retro-vintage touch to his oil paintings. The works can be admired at several galleries around the world, from Boston, Nantucket, Scottsdale, San Francisco and Laguna Beach, all the way to Cape Town, South Africa.
(Source: Thebeautifulist.com)
