Abstract painter Albert Irvin dies at 92, leaving legacy of colour exploration

Albert Irvin, the London-born abstract painter and printmaker, passed away at 92. His artistic journey kicked off in 1939 when he was sent to Northamptonshire due to the war, which earned him a scholarship at Northampton School of Art. After serving as a navigator in the Royal Air Force from 1941, he continued his studies at Goldsmiths College from 1946 to 1950, later teaching there from 1962 to 1983. In the 1950s, Irvin shifted from impressionism and social realism to abstraction, viewing artistic space as a metaphorical landscape and experimenting with color. He was represented by Gimpel Fils in London and won the Arts Council Major Award and Gulbenkian Award for printmaking in 1983. In 1998, he became a Royal Academician and was named an OBE in the 2013 Birthday Honours for his impact in the visual arts.