Matthew Alexander was born in 1953, educated at Simon Langton School Canterbury and subsequently at Canterbury College of Art foundation, Maidstone College of Art B.A. Hons and the University of London PGCE. His father Chris Alexander (1926-82), the noted artist and lecturer, has been the main influence on his painting. After graduating in 1974/75, Matthew and his wife Patricia moved back to his hometown of Margate where he secured a position teaching art at a Secondary School whilst at the same time running courses in painting at the local Adult Education Centres. It was during this time, working at the side of his father, teacher and mentor that he began to paint and exhibit landscapes which found ready buyers. This helped to convince him of the need to resign from teaching to pursue his love of painting. In the summer of 1981, with a growing family of three children, he made the difficult and brave decision to leave the comfort and security of the teaching profession and commence on the uncertain journey to becoming a self-employed artist. He was soon exhibiting his paintings in many of the major galleries in the South of England and encouraged by strong demand for his work began to submit to major exhibitions in London including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, The Royal Watercolour Society, The Royal Institute of Oil Painters and The Royal Society of British Artists to which he was elected a member in 1985. With an ever-increasing demand for his paintings, he set up his own publishing enterprise in 1986 producing high quality limited edition prints of his watercolours. His English landscape prints were purchased by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to furnish the walls of British embassies throughout the world. In the late eighties, Matthew became involved in an exciting project with his brother Gregory. They managed to secure a generous sponsorship deal with KPMG in association with the Catto Gallery London, to travel and record in paintings and drawings, their impressions of the then twelve European Community countries. The project culminated in an exhibition in 1992 at the Bankside Gallery in London and was subsequently toured through several of the European capitals. During this time Matthew's work changed quite dramatically and his larger, more loosely painted oils created interest from collectors, dealers and galleries alike. His first one-man exhibition in London with the Catto Gallery was a great success. Soon after he was approached by David Messum to exhibit at their prestigious gallery in Cork Street London, where he continued to exhibit for more than ten years holding very successful one-man shows each year in the spring. Over the past few years Matthew has opened Alexander’s Studio Gallery close to his home in Monkton Kent where he can exhibit his latest works alongside an increasing range of limited edition prints of his paintings. Matthew Alexander continues to develop an enviable reputation as one of this country’s finest landscape painters. His paintings are included in private, public and corporate collections throughout the world.