Grayson Perry is a British sculptor who was born in 1960 in Chelmsford in the United Kingdom. He grew up with his mother as his father walked out on his mother after she had an affair. The artist talks about this being a very traumatic experience for him. His stepfather was sometimes violent towards him and this caused him to do things by himself, to become a loner.
He loved to draw and build model airplanes. (Its what young kids did before the Xbox!) His favorite place to go was to the shed. It became his escape from his stepfather and he even had a best friend that happened to be a teddy bear that Perry named “Alan Measels.”
The artist had different sexual fantasies and was a cross dresser from a young age. In his teens he started dressing as woman and then going out on the town. He was found out by his parents and had many issues with his stepfather and mother over his cross dressing.
For his collegiate education the artist earned a bachelors degree in fine art from Portsmouth Polytech.
The artist is well known for being a cross dresser. He talks about being an individual in this clip.
He joined a group called the Neo Naturals. They would live their life naked and give shows and live perfomances celebrating the human body. A very sixties activity!
Perry has been estranged from his mother since 1990. His stepfather told him not to return when he left for school in 1979. He lived with pop star Boy George (before he was famous of course with the group WHAM! ) and reknown milliner Stephen Jones. For those of us on this side the pond ( not living in the the U.K.) a milliner is a person who designs or works with hats. The kind made famous by the new Princess of England. Here were these three great artists who would become famous in the decades to follow, living and sharing a small space together. The three would have competitions to see who could wear the most outlandish outfit to their favorite nightclub.
His first formal showing of his ceramic work was in 1983. In 2003 he won the coveted Turner prize for his ceramic work and attended the award show as his alter ego complete with dress.
I enjoy this artist for not being afraid to be who he is. For me I question celebrities who wear meat or outrageous clothes just for attention. Here we have someone that has worn womens clothing since a teenager. I enjoy the very open mind of this artist and the fact the had to overcome such a difficult childhood with his father leaving the family and then his own issues with the family and cross dressing.
He now lives with his wife Philippa Perry who is a psychotherapist, what a strange combination! They have one child.
His price ranges are varied as he works in many mediums. Watercolors can be found by four to ten thousand dollars. Terracotta works can be found from 6 to $84,000. Etchings can be found from $20,000 to $57,000. Ceramics can be found from $2500 to $45,000
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Another quite entertaining interview with the artist and some of his creations.
As the artist enjoys wearing women’s clothing he even has named his feminine alter ego “Claire.”
Grayson Perry was the winner of the 2003 Turner prize.
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