Collection: THE JAMES STEWART DALLAS COLLECTION

James Stewart Dallas was a prolific artist who had been making work since the age of 7. His unique style marries a strong visual language with elements of his emotive philosophy and poetry. He is best known for his paintings, drawings and text pieces, or "manuscripts" as he described them.  However, he also had an extensive body of etchings and an ever increasing collection of sculptures. He was born in Coulsdon in 1957 and studied art at Croydon college and Hull University where he achieved his BA.

His first admission to Bethlem Royal Hospital was when he was about 18 years old and since then had been in and out of psychiatric institutions for most of his life.

Amongst his creative influences are the Fauvists, Surrealists, and German expressionism in particular Edvard Munch. James' subject matter ranged from serene figurative depictions of nature to abstracted shapes and provocative statements. He said, "My work is never the correct colour which is in 'reality' I am therefore more like Matisse than Constable."