Colin Hayes
Also recorded as Colin Graham Frederick Hayes
Colin Hayes

Hayes, Colin (RA) · http: 144/media-144605/large.jpg This photograph Art.IWM ART LD 2754 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. · Public domain
- Born
- 1919 · London.
- Died
- 2003 · London.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Occupation
- painter
- Fields
- visual arts · painting
- Education
- Bath School of Art and Design · Christ Church
- Languages
- English
In this article
Key facts
Colin Hayes studied at Bath School of Art and Design and Christ Church. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is visual arts and painting. Work by Colin Hayes is recorded in the collections of Royal Academy of Arts, The Tullie, Danum Gallery, Library and Museum and Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre.
• Name — Colin Graham Frederick Hayes • Born — 1919 11 17 • Birthplace — London • Died — 2003 11 1 • Place of death — London • Field — Art teacher and painter • Training — * Christ Church, Oxford • Bath School of Art • Ruskin School of Drawing Colin Graham Frederick Hayes (17 November 1919 – 1 November 2003) was a British artist who worked in both oils and watercolours and who, through his teaching and his books, influenced several highly renowned younger artists.
Biography
Hayes was born in London. His father, Gerald was a mathematician and musicologist while his mother, Winifred, was a painter and sculptor. Hayes was educated at Westminster School before reading history at Christ Church, Oxford. At the start of the Second World War, Hayes joined the British Army and served in the Royal Engineers with Field Survey Units in Iceland and Egypt. He was wounded while in north Africa and returned to England in 1943 before serving in north-western Europe after the Normandy landings until he was invalided out of the Army in 1945. After the war, Hayes began studying formally art, first at the Bath School of Art and then at the Ruskin School of Drawing during 1946 and 1947 in Oxford. In 1947 he was appointed head of painting at Cheltenham Ladies' College but left in 1949 when offered a post at the Royal College of Art, RCA. In time Hayes became a Senior Tutor, then Reader and Fellow at the RCA and in all taught there until 1984. Alongside many notable colleagues, such as Ruskin Spear and John Minton, Hayes influenced the artistic development of a generation of students that included David Hockney, Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield and R. B. Kitaj. After retiring from the RCA, Hayes remained an honorary member of the college and, later, taught at the City & Guilds School of Art in London. In 1962 Hayes was elected to the council of the Royal Society of British Artists, RBA, having exhibited with them several times previously. He served as president of the RBA from 1993 to 1998. He used this role to promote the re-establishment of teaching the formal elements and methods in art education. Hayes exhibited on a regular basis until the end of his life, with exhibitions at both Agnews and the New Grafton Gallery in London. He travelled widely in Greece, Tibet and India and he often used bright colours and strong patterns in his paintings. In 1963 he became an associate member of the Royal Academy and in 1970 was elected a full member. Examples of watercolours made by Hayes in north Africa during World War Two were purchased by the War Artists' Advisory Committee and are now in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. The Arts Council England, the British Council and the Government Art Collection also hold examples of his paintings.
Published works
• Renior, 1961 • Stanley Spencer, 1963 • Rembrandt, 1969 • Ruskin Spear • A Grammar of Drawing.
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Colin Hayes (artist), revision 1364694918 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Citations
References
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reference work
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People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
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