Ivor Abrahams was a British sculptor, ceramicist, and printmaker best known for his polychrome sculptures and his stylised prints of garden scenes. He studied at Saint Martin's School of Art under Anthony Caro from 1952 to 1953 and at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts under Karel Vogel from 1954 to 1957. In 1957, Abrahams went on to apprentice at the Fiorini Art Bronze Foundry and worked as a display artist for Adel Rootstein. After traveling extensively through Europe, Abrahams began his teaching career in 1960. He served as a visiting lecturer at Birmingham School of Art, Coventry College of Art, Goldsmiths' College, the Royal College of Art, and the Slade School of Fine Art. From 2007 to 2010, he was a professor of sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools.

 

Ivor Abrahams's first show was with Peter Blake at Portal Gallery in 1960. He also exhibited in the landmark 22 Young Sculptors exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1961. By the late 1960s, Abrahams found inspiration in the imagery of domestic gardens. He began experimenting with new materials, including bronze, nylon flocking, pre-vulcanized latex, styrene and plastics. His first solo show in the United States took place at Richard Feigen Gallery in 1970. Abrahams established his international reputation with a major museum show at the Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne in 1973. He went on to have many solo shows in museums and private galleries across Europe and the United States. These shows included a major retrospective at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 1984.

 

Abrahams died on 6 January 2015 in Ramsgate, Kent.