Peter Freeth RA RE

Born 15th April 1938

Elected ARE 1987, Elected RE 1991

Made Hon. 2022

Died 21st April 2026

Peter Freeth RA RE was born in Birmingham in 1938 and went on to study at the Slade School of Fine Art between 1956 and 1960. After graduating from the Slade, Peter won the prestigious Prix de Rome for Engraving in 1960. He studied and travelled extensively in Italy for three years before returning to England.
 
Peter became a dedicated and influential educator, teaching at the Royal Academy Schools and the Camden Institute. From 1966 to 2007, he taught etching at the Royal Academy Schools, where he inspired and guided generations of students while helping to sustain and develop the tradition of printmaking in Britain.
 
Throughout his career, Peter exhibited widely, both in the UK and internationally, most recently with a significant print retrospective at London’s Art Space gallery in 2021. He exhibited consistently at the Royal Academy where he was elected an Associate in 1990 and Fellow in June 1991 - the same year that he was elected to the RE. Despite suffering (with stoicism and good humour) from severe Parkinson’s disease in recent years, he still managed to create six new small works for this year’s RA Summer Show, which opens next month. Peter’s work has been shown in countries including the United States, Russia, India, and Italy and his prints are held in numerous prestigious public and private collections worldwide. These include the Arts Council of Great Britain, the British Museum in London, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the Government Art Collection, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery in Washington D.C. and the Harvard University Collection.
 
Peter’s legacy endures through both his artwork and the many lives he influenced within the artistic community. He is remembered for his unwavering commitment to the visual arts, his dedication as a teacher, and his role as a true innovator in the field of etching.