Gilroy - John Thomas Young Gilroy (1898-1985)
John Gilroy - John Thomas Young Gilroy (1898-1985). Portrait and landscape painter in oil; cartoonist; illustrator; art teacher. Born in Newcastle to John William Gilroy, who gave him basic tuition in art before attending Armstrong College (now Newcastle University). He served in the First World War and won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art before gaining a diploma in 1920 and travelling scholarship in mural painting. He settled in London practising largely as a portrait painter and produced some commercial design work. He is also famous for a series of Guinness posters from 1925-1960. J.T. Gilroy produced portraits for the Royal family. He has exhibited widely throughout his career from 1927 participating in many exhibitions including the Fine Art Society, the Royal Academy; the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and several provincial galleries including the Laing Gallery, Newcastle. He participated at the Artists of the Northern Counties exhibitions for many years. His first one man exhibitions were held at Cheltenham Art Gallery and Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery in 1941. Other included Mawson Swan and Morgan in Newcastle in 1964; the Upper Grosnover Gallery, London, 1970 and the Laing Gallery 1984. Retrospectives where held in London in the year of his death and at the Laing Gallery in 1998 to celebrate the centenary of his birth. The latter toured Britain and was sponsored by the History of Advertising Trust. Gilroy was an associate of the Royal College of Arts, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Newcastle University in 1975.