William Feaver (born 1 December 1942) is a British art critic, curator, artist and lecturer. From 1975–1998 he was the chief art critic of the Observer, and from 1994 a visiting professor at Nottingham Trent University. His book The Pitmen Painters inspired the play of the same name by Lee Hall.The Guardian on the Pitmen Painters
Education Feaver was educated at Nottingham High School and Keble College, Oxford. After graduating from Oxford he became a teacher at Newcastle's Royal Grammar School (1965–71)Who's Who before being appointed the Sir James Knott Fellow at Newcastle University. He is currently an academic board member of the Royal Drawing School.Feaver's biography on the Royal Drawing School website
Career as art critic While at Newcastle, Feaver became the art critic of the Newcastle Journal before being appointed successively to the Listener (1971–75) and the Financial Times (1974–75) before being joining the Observer. He won the Art Critic of the Year award in 1983.Who's Who Feaver conducted an interview with Lucian Freud in 1992, The artist out of cageThe artist out of cage, The Observer Review, No.10495, Sunday 6 December 1992, pp.45-46. on Freud's 70th birthday, which has been re-published in English and German in the catalog of the Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt exhibition Lucian Freud: Naked Portraits.Rolf Lauter, ed. Lucian Freud: Naked Portraits. Werke der 40er bis 90er Jahre, pp. 286-295, Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern-Ruit 2001. .
His 2019 book, The Lives of Lucian Freud, was shortlisted for the 2019 Baillie Gifford Prize.
Family His father was the Rt Rev Douglas Feaver. In 1964 Feaver married Victoria Turton (the poet Vicki Feaver). They had one son and three daughters. He married, secondly, in 1985, Andrea Rose OBE; they have two daughters.Who's Who
Exhibitions curated Feaver has curated a number of exhibitions in the UK and abroad, including: George Cruikshank, V&A, 1974Cruickshank at the V&A Thirties, Hayward Gallery, 1979Thirties British Art & Design The Ashington Group, Beijing, 1979 Lucian Freud exhibitions at Abbot Hall, Kendal (1996),Lucian Freud at Abbot HallTate Britain and La Caixa, Barcelona (2002), Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2002-3) and Museo Correr, Venice (2005)Freud at Museum Correr Michael Andrews, Tate Gallery, 2001Michael Andrews at the Tate John Constable, Grand Palais, 2002Constable at the Grand Palais
Books published The Art of John Martin, 1975 When We Were Young, 1976 Masters of Caricature, 1981 Pitmen Painters, 1988 Frank Auerbach, 2009 Lucian Freud: Paintings and Etchings, 1996. The Lives of Lucian Freud: Youth, 2019. Also titled The Lives of Lucian Freud: The Restless Years, 1922–1968, 2019 The Lives of Lucian Freud: Fame 1968-2011, 2021 Lucian Freud, 2002. Revised and expanded edition expected September 28, 2026
References