King Charles III, 1948 | Watercolourist and Patron of the Arts | Tutt'Art@

King Charles III of the United Kingdom (born Charles Philip Arthur George; 14 November 1948) is an artist, a master watercolour artist of landscapes.

King Charles III's interest began during the 1970s and 1980s when he was inspired by Robert Waddell, who had been his art master at Gordonstoun in Scotland.

In time, King Charles met leading artists such as Edward Seago, with whom he discussed watercolour technique, and received further tuition from John Ward, Bryan Organ and Derek Hill.

When he began showing his paintings, he was too nervous to display his name so displayed under a pseudonym A.G.Carrick. Arthur George are two of his names (Charles Phillip Arthur George) and one of his titles is Earl of Carrick.

The Royal Family has a tradition of drawing and painting, and King Charles' work first came to public notice at a 1977 exhibition at Windsor Castle at which other Royal artists included Queen Victoria, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duke of York.

In a publication Carlo explains: "I am under no illusion that my sketches represent great art or a burgeoning talent! They represent, more than anything else, my particular form of 'photograph album' and, as such, mean a great deal to me".

He also cites his "first sketches" declaring "I'm appalled by how bad they are".

So what kept him going?

"You become increasingly aware of things that may have escaped your attention previously - things like the quality of light and shade, of tone and texture and of the shape of buildings in relation to the landscape. It all requires the most intense concentration and, consequently, is one of the most relaxing and therapeutic exercises I know. In fact, in my case, I find it transports me into another dimension which, quite literally, refreshes parts of the soul which other activities can’t reach".

King Charles paints in the open air, often finishing a picture in one go and his favourite locations include The Queen's estate at Balmoral in Scotland and Sandringham House in Norfolk, England.

King Charles III - Visual, performing and contemporary arts

Charles is president or patron of more than 20 performing arts organisations, which include the Royal College of Music, the Royal Opera, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, and the Purcell School.

In 2000, he revived the tradition of appointing harpists to the Royal Court, by appointing an Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales.

As an undergraduate at Cambridge, he played the cello and has sung with the Bach Choir twice.

He was a member of Dryden Society, Trinity College's drama group, and appeared in sketches and revues.

Charles founded The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts in 2002, to help more children experience the arts first-hand.

He is president of the Royal Shakespeare Company and attends performances in Stratford-Upon-Avon, supports fundraising events and attends the company's annual general meeting.

He enjoys comedy, and is interested in illusionism, becoming a member of The Magic Circle after passing his audition in 1975 by performing the "cups and balls" effect.

Charles has also been patron of the British Film Institute since 1978.

Charles is a keen and accomplished watercolourist who has exhibited and sold a number of his works to raise money for his charities and also published books on the subject. To mark the 25th anniversary of his investiture as the Prince of Wales in 1994, the Royal Mail issued a series of postage stamps which featured his paintings.

For his 50th birthday, 50 of his watercolours were exhibited at Hampton Court Palace.

In 2001, 20 lithographs of his watercolour paintings illustrating his country estates were exhibited at the Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art.

In 2016, it was estimated that he had sold lithographs of his watercolours for a total of £2 million from a shop at his Highgrove House residence.

For his 70th birthday in 2018, his works were exhibited at the National Gallery of Australia.

In 2022, 79 of his paintings were put on display in London.

He is Honorary President of the Royal Academy of Arts Development Trust.

Charles was awarded the 2011 Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award by the Montblanc Cultural Foundation for his support and commitment to the arts, particularly in regard to young people.

On 23 April 2016, Charles appeared in a comedy sketch for the Royal Shakespeare Company's Shakespeare Live! at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death in 1616. The event was televised live by the BBC.

Charles made a surprise entrance to settle the disputed delivery of Hamlet's celebrated line, "To be or not to be, that is the question".

In January 2022, Charles commissioned seven artists to paint portraits of seven Holocaust survivors.

The paintings were exhibited at the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace and at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and were featured in a BBC Two documentary titled Survivors: Portraits of the Holocaust.

Art awards

2001: City of Florence Prize - 20 lithographs of his watercolour paintings illustrating his country estates have been exhibited at The Florence International Biennale Exhibition of Contemporary Art

2011: Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award by the Montblanc Cultural Foundation. | Source: © Wikipedia

Il Re Carlo III del Regno Unito (nato Charles Philip Arthur George; Londra, 14 novembre 1948) è anche un artista, un maestro acquerellista di paesaggi.

L'interesse del Re Carlo iniziò negli anni '70 e '80 quando fu ispirato da Robert Waddell, che era stato il suo maestro d'arte a Gordonstoun, in Scozia.

Col tempo, King Charles incontrò artisti di spicco come Edward Seago, con il quale discusse la tecnica dell'acquerello, e ricevette ulteriori lezioni da John Ward, Bryan Organ e Derek Hill.

Quando iniziò a mostrare i suoi dipinti, era scettico nel firmare con il suo nome, così firmò le tele con il pseudonimo A.C. Carrick - Arthur George Carrick. Arthur George sono due dei suoi nomi (Charles Phillip Arthur George) ed uno dei suoi titoli è Conte di Carrick.

Dal 1970 ha dipinto 680 acquerelli con la firma di A.G.Carrick.

La famiglia reale ha una tradizione di disegno e pittura, ed il lavoro del Re Carlo venne per la prima volta all'attenzione del pubblico in una mostra del 1977 al Castello di Windsor in cui altri artisti reali includevano la regina Vittoria, il duca di Edimburgo ed il duca di York.

In una pubblicazione Carlo spiega:

- "Non mi illudo che i miei schizzi rappresentino una grande arte od un talento nascente! Rappresentano, più di ogni altra cosa, la mia particolare forma di "album fotografico" e, in quanto tali, significano molto per me".

Cita anche i suoi "primi schizzi" dichiarando: "Sono sconvolto da quanto siano cattivi".

Allora cosa lo ha fatto andare avanti?

- "Diventi sempre più consapevole di cose che potrebbero essere sfuggite alla tua attenzione in precedenza, cose come la qualità della luce e dell'ombra, del tono e della trama e della forma degli edifici in relazione al paesaggio. Il tutto richiede la concentrazione più intensa e, di conseguenza, è uno degli esercizi più rilassanti e terapeutici che io conosca. Infatti, nel mio caso, trovo che mi trasporti in un'altra dimensione che, letteralmente, rinfresca parti dell'anima che altre attività non possono raggiungere".

Re Carlo dipinge all'aperto, spesso finendo un quadro in una volta sola e le sue location preferite includono la tenuta della regina a Balmoral in Scozia e Sandringham House a Norfolk, in Inghilterra.

Il Re Carlo III è presidente o patrono di più di 20 organizzazioni artistiche, tra cui il Royal College of Music, la Royal Opera, l'English Chamber Orchestra, la Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, la Welsh National Opera e la Purcell School.

Il Re ha inoltre fondato la The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts nel 2002 per aiutare i bambini nell'inserimento del mondo della musica.

Egli è presidente della Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) e regolarmente prende parte a degli spettacoli che si svolgono a Stratford-upon-Avon, supportando la compagnia a proprie spese.

Nel 2000 egli ha ravvivato l'antica tradizione di nominare un'arpista di corte, nominando appunto un musicista in questo senso per la corte del Galles.