Stephen Farthing

[2] Since his return from Italy in 1977, Farthing has had one-man shows in the UK, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Australia, Japan, and the United States.

[1] Farthing's work was featured in the 1989 São Paulo Biennale and that same year he served as the Artist in Residence at the Hayward Gallery in London.

He authored the Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Art, published in 2000, in addition to numerous academic essays and journal articles.

[citation needed] Farthing described his work in a 2005 interview, saying "I have dined with the devil in terms of becoming a modern artist.

"[9] Farthing's work reflects his education, personal experience and perspective on historical events that have captured his imagination.

During the 1990s, he reinvented history painting as a viable contemporary narrative taking on subject matters as diverse as the Battle of Trafalgar, swagger portraiture, and the topographical mapping of cities.

[16][17] Farthing's work as a painter sits midway between the conservative and the cutting edge between a classical and radical painting.