Conrad Atkinson, who has died aged 82, was one of Britain’s most significant activist and political artists. For more than 60 years he dedicated his life to highlighting contentious sociopolitical issues, including the miners’ strikes, landmines, the Aids crisis and the Northern Ireland conflict. Silver Liberties, a work commemorating the victims of Bloody Sunday, was famously outlawed by the Ulster Museum in the 1970s.
Born in Cleator Moor, Cumberland (now Cumbria), to Bridget (nee McHenry), a factory worker, and Reginald Atkinson, an electrician, Conrad was proudly working class. After Whitehaven grammar school, in 1957 he attended Carlisle College of Art before joining Liverpool School of Art. Fellow alumni included John Lennon, and the explosive Liverpudlian arts scene became a hotbed for the movers and shakers of 60s Britain. An avid banjo player, Conrad regularly lent his treasured instrument to Paul McCartney, and brought Lennon’s old easel back to rural Cumbria, from which he would paint for the rest of his life.
