Born in Lichfield, 1941, Brendan Neiland has long been fascinated by architecture, and his favourite artist is Fernand Léger. Léger started out in an architect’s office, and his interest in construction inspired the grid-like compositions for which he has become renowned. The balance of tight black lines and softer figurative forms, as demonstrated in The Constructors, finds a modern manifestation in Neiland’s work.

Over a long and successful career spanning five decades, Neiland has produced many private and public commissions around the world, including for Rolls-Royce, English Heritage, Gatwick Express and the National Bank of Dubai. He won the Scottish Advertising & Design Award for Best Use of Illustration in an Advertisement for the Highland Collection (1996), and the working stencils and sketches made in preparation for the painting, Lloyd's, commissioned by Jardines, were displayed at the Tate Gallery in 1988. He received the John Minton Scholarship in 1969, and was a prize-winner at John Moores Liverpool Exhibition XI in 1978. Neiland is also a respected printmaker, having featured in New British Printmakers at Brooklyn Museum, in 1974, and in numerous international biennales from 1970 onwards. Elected an RA in 1992, Neiland served as Keeper of the Schools from 1998 to 2004. His work is held in all of the major UK public collections as well as around the world.