David Shepherd
A pioneer in African wildlife artwork..
David Shepherd CBE FRSA – wildlife artist and conservationist
For over 50 years David dedicated his life to protecting some of the world’s most iconic and endangered animals. Using his talent as an artist to generate funds for their protection he inspired hundreds of others to follow and, in 1984, established his own wildlife foundation to give something back to the animals that had given him so much success as an artist.
As a small boy, David had only one ambition, to be a game warden. So after leaving school in 1949, he went to Kenya to follow his dream, only to be politely told that he was not wanted! Returning home with his dream in tatters, he faced two choices: ‘to drive buses or starve as an artist’.
Rejected by the Slade School of Fine Art as having ‘no talent whatsoever’, it was by good fortune that he met Robin Goodwin, a professional artist, who took him under his wing, teaching him for three years, and to whom he owes his success.
David started his career as an aviation artist and owes a great deal to the Services who commissioned paintings that took him all over the world. The RAF flew him from Mukulla in Aden to Kenya in 1960, which proved a turning point in his career when they commissioned his very first wildlife painting – a rhino on a runway – he never looked back.
It was at this time that he became a conservationist overnight when he came across 255 dead zebra at a poisoned waterhole in Tanzania. Throughout his career he has tried to do all he can to repay the enormous debt he feels he owes to the elephants, tigers and other animals that have given him so much success as an artist. ‘Tiger Fire’ was one of his first major fund-raising successes, raising £127,000 for Indira Gandhi’s Operation Tiger in 1973.
In 1984 he established the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) to channel his own conservation efforts and to fund vital enforcement and community projects that continue to make a real difference to wildlife survival. To date, through his tireless efforts, and thanks to the generosity of the Foundation’s dedicated supporters, including artists from around the world, over £7 million has been given away directly in grants to keep key projects in Africa and Asia alive and operational.
In 2011, during his 80th birthday year, David launched a new campaign to save the tiger in the wild. The social media based ‘TigerTime’ has attracted celebrity support from Sir Paul McCartney, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley, among many, and campaigns to bring an end to the trade in tigers while raising additional funds and awareness for DSWF’s tiger conservation work.
As well as his wildlife and landscape paintings, David is perhaps lesser known for his portraits, which include Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, HE Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and perhaps the most significant, his vast portrayal of ‘Christ on the Battlefield’ which hangs behind the alter in a military garrison church.
His life as an artist and conservationist has featured in several TV programmes including the BBC’s ‘Man Who Loves Giants’ (1972) and ‘Last Train to Mulobezi’ (1974), Harleck’s ‘Elephants and Engines’ (1974), ‘In Search of Wildlife’ series for Thames (1988), ‘Naturewatch’ for Central TV (1990), and ‘This is Your Life’ (1990). His books include ‘An Artist in Africa’ (1967), ‘The Man Who Loves Giants’ (1975), ‘A Brush with Steam’ (1983), ‘David Shepherd, The Man and His Paintings’ (1985), ‘David Shepherd, An Artist in Conservation’ (1992), ‘David Shepherd, My Painting Life’ and ‘Only One World’ (1995) and ‘Painting with David Shepherd’ (2004).
David’s many awards include an Honorary Degree on Fine Arts by the Pratt Institute in New York (1971), the Order of the Golden Ark by HRH The Prince of The Netherlands (1973), Member of Honour of WWF and OBE (1979), FRSA (1986), Order of Distinguished Service, Zambia (1988), and June 2008 the CBE for services to conservation.
In 2012 David started the year with a retrospective of his work at the Royal Academy West of England in Bristol and on April 23rd was the first artist to be presented with the ‘True Englishman’ award by the St George’s day club. His Foundation was also recognised with the Best Conservation Award at the Burgess Wetnose Animal Awards.
In 2016, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to wildlife conservation, David was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at the Daily Mirror’s Animal Hero Awards, in association with the RSPCA.
Now over 85, David no longer accepts commissions but still paints every day. He continues to make personal appearances and donates his work to support his Foundation. His wish would be to have many more Christmases so that he could do all the things he still wants to do as an artist and conservationist.
Courtesy: davidshepherd.org
Publications
David Shepherd: An Artist in Conservation – Illustrated, 1 Jul 1992 - David Shepherd, internationally known artist and deeply committed conservationist, first learnt about Africa from books about the big game hunters of the 1930's. Returning to England he took up painting, initially specialising in aviation art. David Shepherd: 'Then, in 1960, the Royal Air Force commissioned me to do two paintings in Kenya. When I arrived they said to me, "We don't want paintings of aircraft - do you do local subjects such as elephants?" - and that's how it started.' Not long after this, in the Serengeti National park in Tanzania, he came across the corpses of 225 poisoned zebras, the macabre handiwork of a poaching gang. On this traumatic day in 1960 David became an active conservationist. Over the years, the two strands of David's life were to unite ever more strongly. As his popularity as a wildlife painter grew, he became increasingly aware of the fragility of these animals' existence. In 1985, this led to the formation of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, which allows him to repay some of the pleasure and success he owes to the creatures he paints. A stunning collection of the best of David's wildlife art, this book is a testimony both to his unique talents as an artist and to the beauty and majesty of the animals he portrays. There are fascinating descriptions of trips he made to shoot game - not with a gun, but with a camera. The paintings which follow are as full of life and light as the landscapes he paints. Complemented by colour sketches, and handwritten notes by the artist himself, they are a celebration of his subjects and his work.
David Shepherd: The Man and His Paintings – Illustrated, 1 Oct 1985
An Artist in Africa – 1 Sep 1969
The Man Who Loves Giants: The Continuing Story of an Artist Among Elephants and Engines – 1 Oct 1989 - in this book David Shepherd describes his full and varied life, from his early career as an aviation artist with the RAF to his encounters with African wildlife and his work on the East Somerset Railway, of which he is founder and Chairman. Although he is best known as a wildlife artist, his subjects range from landscapes to locomotives, and from portraits to aircraft. The book also tells of the author's world travels - he has travelled the world in nuclear bombers, helicopters, HMS Ark Royal, a Lancaster bomber and a submarine - and of his work for wildlife preservation. He has been awarded the Order of the Golden Ark for his services to conservation.
Painting With David Shepherd – 1 Oct 2004...his unique studio secrets revealed.
My Painting Life – 31 Oct 1995 by David Shepherd - an illustrated autobiography which tells the story of David Shepherd's life and work as conservationist, railway buff and artist.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Obituary - David Shepherd CBE 1931 – 2017