Born in Glasgow in 1952, Joe Hargan studied drawing and painting at the Glasgow School of Art. Joe has exhibited regularly since the early 1970′s at such prestigious venues as London’s Royal Academy, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Glasgow Institute of Art, the Royal Society of Watercolors, the Royal Scottish Academy of Art, the Paisley Art Institute and the British Watercolor Society. In 1985 he became a member of the Paisley Art Institute and in 1989 he was voted Chairman and President, a post he held for 11 years. In 1996 Joe was awarded the Paisley Art Institute diploma for the quality of his paintings and his service to Scottish art.
Joe’s paintings, while remarkable for their diversity, are immediately recognisable and follow the rich tradition of vibrant, bold colourist Scottish paintings. He draws inspiration from many sources ranging from Italian renaissance art through to the vast tracts of colour seen in the work of Mark Rothko. The well-loved character ‘Sniffy’ has been a feature of his images for many years, and is now known and collected the world over.
In the course of his long and successful career Joe has been awarded a significant number of art prizes reflecting and rewarding the quality and breadth of his talent, as follows: Contemporary Painting Prize, Glasgow School of Art, 1972 First Prize, National Competition – Stirling Smith Art Gallery, 1978 Cargill Art Award, Royal Glasgow Institute, 1982 Torrance Award, Royal Glasgow Institute, 1984 Meyer Oppenheim Award, Royal Scottish Academy of Art, 1986 Hunting Art Group Prizewinner, Mall Galleries, 1988 The Paisley Art Institute Award, 1993 The Contemporary Fine art award, The Paisley Art Institute, 2001 Maude Gemmell Hutchison Prize, Royal Scottish Academy of Art 2002 William Bowie Award, Paisley Art Institute 2002 His work is shown all over the world and his collectors range from the Kuwaiti Royal Family to the BBC.
