Christopher Lea is a painter who lives and works in New York. A native of Yorkshire, England, Lea studied with Euan Uglow at the Slade School of Fine Art and learned that art can unite close observation of nature with art history. He also studied paint-making and old master technique with Arthur Lucas, Chief Restorer of the National Gallery, and continues to hand-grind his own paint. At the New York Studio School, he learned abstraction and pure painting with Fredrick Thursz and Milton Resnick. The dialogue between these different artistic traditions still directs his studio practice. At City College, he studied sculpture and printmaking for his MFA. Lea’s recent themes address aging and Alzheimer’s disease, and attitudes to nature and the environmental crisis. His works are in private collections.
Since 2004, Lea has taught K-12 in NYC public schools as well as many institutions of higher education including CCNY, BMCC, Columbia University, College of New Rochelle, the National Arts Council in Singapore and SFAC in South Korea through a collaboration with Lincoln Center Education. He also has experience teaching student populations with disabilities including Autism and Dementia.
