Patrick Heron (1920 – 1999), was born in Headingley in Leeds. After living in Cornwall his family moved to Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire in 1929. Five years later, working for Cresta Silks, Heron designed his first silkscreen. Then in 1937 he became a part-time student at the Slade School of Fine Art in London for two years. In 1940 he worked as an agricultural labourer in Cambridge and Welwyn Garden City for our years before becoming an assistant at Bernard Leach's Pottery in St.Ives in Cornwall and finally, in 1945, moving to Holland Park after marrying Delia Reiss. He was art critic for the New English Weekly for two years before having his first one-man exhibition in 1947 at the Redfern Gallery, London .

His early work was influenced by Georges Braque and Henri Matisse but in the mid-Fifties he developed an abstract style using unusual colours and intricate patterns . After working as art critic on The New Statesman and Nation he started a teaching job at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London in 1953 and in 1956 moved to Cornwall settling at Eagle's Nest in Zennor.

Patrick Heron's work is devoted to analyses of natural forms and colours. From his abstract works, particularly those made up of horizontal or vertical stripes to his softer-edged shapes, he regularly uses colour to express the pleasure of sight as one of the most important human senses. Heron was awarded the Grand prize at the second John Moores Liverpool Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in 1959 and the Silver Medal at São Paulo Bienal VIII in 1965.