Stephen Buckley was born in Leicester, England on April 5, 1944. He was educated at the University of Newcastle from 1962 to 1967, and the University of Reading from 1967 to 1969. He was married in 1972 and has three children. He lectured and was a visiting artist at Canterbury College of Art in Kent, Leeds College of Art in Yorkshire, Chelsea School of Art in London, and Kings College in Cambridge.

Buckley sees himself primarily as a painter, but in his work he selects raw materials autobiographically. His mother's curtains, personal clothing, etc. are transformed and renewed in his hands. These things are torn, scorched, twisted and stretched to their limits, then woven and stitched together. Over these sensuously textured surfaces he works in warm earthy colors, then adds plaster, floor polish, wax or even yoghurt to his oils, acrylics, water colors and enamels.

Because he chose the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne rather than an art school, Buckley found himself being taught by Richard Hamilton, the "father' of English Pop Art at the apogee of the movement's interest and influence. Strict professionalism and easy sociability remain Buckley's most obvious personal charecteristics; both find expression in his art. The logic of his evolution as a painter is strikingly revealed by the nearly twenty years' worth of work shown in his English and American retrospectives.

Written and compiled by Jean Ershler Schatz, artist and researcher from Laguna Woods, California.

Sources include:
Contemporary Artists, 2nd edition
John McEwen in Art in America, February 1986