Rolf Harris

Long acknowledged as a living legend, Rolf has been awarded the CBE and has won many accolades for his artwork. In 2000 he received an honorary membership from the Royal Society of British Artists, joining a distinguished list that includes Sir Winston Churchill and James McNeil Whistler. His status as the nation’s most popular artist was highlighted when the BBC commissioned him to paint an 80th birthday portrait of Her Majesty the Queen. His famous BBC1 TV series ‘Rolf on Art’ gained the highest ever viewing figures for a programme on the visual arts, topping all previous programmes by over six million viewers on a weekly basis. In 1992 Rolf was named the world’s most famous artist in a massive poll and in 2008 his enduring popularity was underlined by a survey called ‘What the British really think about art today’ published in the Daily Telegraph in which he featured ahead of Damian Hirst. He remains one of the most well known names and biggest draws on the contemporary art scene.