Artist and lecturer who did foundation studies at Mid-Cheshire College, 1981–2; graduated with honours from Leeds Polytechnic, 1982–5; then, after several abortive applications to the Royal Academy Schools – he continued studying independently, evening classes and life classes in Florence, Italy – was accepted by Leonard McComb, the Royal Academy Schools’ keeper, and gained a postgraduate diploma in painting, 1996–9. Archer held residencies at St Paul’s Gallery, Leeds, in 1987; Florence Trust, 1991; and the London Business School, 1999–00. Lecturing appointments included Leeds Metropolitan University, 1994; Loughborough University, Winchester School of Art and John Moores University, Liverpool, all 1999; and Heatherley’s School of Art, from 2001.
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Archer was a guest speaker on contemporary portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery in 2005, the year he appeared in the BBC1 television programme Star Portraits with Rolf Harris, painting the comedian Adrian Edmondson. Also in 2005 the Star Portraits pictures were shown at the County Hall Gallery, plus a tour. Archer won a string of awards, including the Fabriano Prize, National Print Exhibition, 1997; Galleries Magazine Award at the National Print Exhibition, the Richard Jack and George Isted prizes for portraiture, Premiums Exhibition, RA Sackler Galleries, the Elizabeth Scott-Moore Watercolour Prize, RWS, Discerning Eye Award for figure painting, and a Commended, BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, all 1998; London Prize at the Hunting Art Prizes, Haite Travel Scholarship and Cyril Sweet Award, Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers, for the most outstanding postgraduate show, all 1999; and 1st prize, Hunting Art Prizes, 2002. He gained a Rover Cars Group commission in 1998, another from The Mill film production company, in 2000. Mixed shows included Whitechapel Open, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1994; RA Summer Exhibition, from 1997; and Singer & Friedlander/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, 1998; Beaux Arts, Bath, from 2001; Jerwood Drawing Prize, Jerwood Space, 2003; and Gibsone Jessop Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2005. He had a solo exhibition at Long & Ryle, 2000, work stemming from family photographs in which Archer sought for “something that’s not quite right” in mundane scenes. Other one-man shows included a series at Sarah Myerscough Fine Art from 2001. Archer lived in Wittersham, Kent.
Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)
