John A. McPake, R.E., the illustrator of Gleda and the Sparkling-Cloth, grew up and was educated on Merseyside. He studied at Wallasey School of Art, and at Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds Polytechnics. His imagery is developed from drawings and paintings carried out in his personal domestic environment dealing with the human figure, animals, interiors and gardens. These elements are assembled in a variety of ways resulting in the production of prints and paintings which convey an intense dreamlike quality. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers for a number of years and has been elected President of Manchester Academy of Fine Arts. He has exhibited widely in the UK, including Bankside Gallery, London, several Summer Exhibitions at the Royal Academy, and various one-man shows. His work has appeared in foreign exhibitions including Paris, USA, Russia and several Print Biennales in Seoul, South Korea. John's work is also in public and private collections in the UK, France, USA, Germany, Norway, Australia, South Africa and Russia.
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