Tributes to pioneering Hartlepool-born sculptor and arts education 'champion' Anthony Heywood

Anthony Heywood studied at Hartlepool Art College – now the Northern School of Art – before going on to create work that garnered widespread attention and was displayed across Europe, Asia, America and the Middle East..

He was also a passionate art lecturer who had a hugely successful teaching career in Kent for over 40 years alongside his prolific and at times high-profile career as an artist.

An avid environmentalist, Anthony made art that directly addressed issues of climate change decades before it came to the forefront of public debate.

Born in December 1952 in Hartlepool, he attended Golden Flatts primary school and Brierton Comprehensive.

After taking a course at Hartlepool Art College he did a Fine Art degree at Newcastle Poly, now Northumbria University.

He pioneered art teaching at the University for Creative Arts (UCA), formerly Canterbury College of Art, where he set up a part-time Fine Art course, which became a hugely popular option for thousands of students who he inspired with his enthusiasm and passion.

Anthony’s style of sculpting came to prominence in the late 1980s in works such as The Elephant, an installation made up of used monitors and TVs, which was a response to a news report about elephant poaching.

He received further widespread attention with his life-sized Four Horses of The Apocalypse, inspired by the Horses of Saint Mark in Venice, and in 1994 with Dove of Peace, a full-size Spitfire made from recycled paper.

His approach drew upon art history as well as contemporary cultural and political events, but subverted by the use of found, mass-produced objects, such as television sets, toys and ornaments.

“I often create works with upcycled materials, the used and the useless, subverting their functions to play with conventional systems of classification and notions of so called high and low art to provide fresh perspectives on the things that constitute the world around us,’’ he once said.

And in education, Anthony gained a significant international reputation as a course leader in the 1990s, including becoming a visiting tutor at the Royal College of Art in sculpture.

UCA, where he was Head of Sculpture until his retirement earlier this year, said he would be remembered as a great teacher, friend, and colleague.

Terry Perk, assistant vice-chancellor and director of the School of Fine Art, said: “Anthony was such a kind and gentle man, as well as an excellent tutor.’

"He was such a champion of arts education and over the years, thousands of students have benefited from his knowledge, skills and insight.’’

Anthony also set up one of UCA’s first international partnerships in Cyprus, enabling an annual student exchange to the country.

His involvement led to the development of the Cyprus College of Art, where he instigated the Great Wall of Lempa, which is now an established cultural site on the island.

He is survived by his wife Lilly, and their three children, Nina, Emile, and Iona.