Harold Riley-Every Line is Me

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​Born in Salford in 1934, Harold Riley sold his first painting to the City Art Gallery when he was 11. At 17, he won a scholarship to the Slade and went on to study in Florence and Spain before returning to Salford, where he has lived ever since. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the universities of Salford, Manchester, London and Florence.

His deep affection for his home town cemented a friendship with L S Lowry which began when Riley was a student. Together they worked on a project to record the area and its people, a project which Riley continued until the end of the twentieth century.

Alongside this portrayal of ordinary working lives, Riley developed his reputation as a portraitist of the rich and famous. He has painted popes, American presidents and royalty. His sporting works, particularly golf and football, are also very sought after.

Harold Riley died in April 2023.

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 One of the benefits of attending Salford Art Club is being able to view new exhibitions in Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The one on at the moment celebrates  the work, and life of one of Salford's most famous sons the late Harold Riley.

Living in Salford it was inevitable that my path would cross with Harold on several occasions.
In the 70’s and early 80’s I often entered paintings in the annual Salford show Exhibition held at Salford Grammar school every August. Harold was the main judge giving out prizes for different categories in the exhibition. Without knowing much about him, at the time, I was awarded several prizes over the years. This recognition helped me gain in confidence to carry on producing artwork.

At this time. I also would bump into him when attending open exhibitions around the northwest, but never really plucked up the courage to have a chat with him.  In fact I tended to see him more at the local Blockbusters, at the bottom of Cholmondeley Road when we were both hiring a video for our weekend viewing. At this stage we did let on to each other.

Harold also was attached to Salford Art Club, which I have been a member of over the years and attended our exhibitions at times or even looked in on an odd session the group was having.
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Moving into Eccles and leaving the club for a time our paths stopped crossing until a few years ago when he opened his gallery in the Lowry Outlet Shopping Centre. I visited this on occasions but sadly never had a chance to have a long discussion with him.

Some of the awards presented to me by Harold from 1971-1983

 The exhibition at Salford Art Gallery  is a fitting tribute to all that he achieved and his love for Salford. It is well worth a visit.