The younger of two brothers, Patrick Procktor was born in Dublin in 1936. After the death of his father in 1940 he was brought up in London and Brighton by his mother and maternal grandparents. His grandmother, it appears, was a talented amateur still life painter. After completing his secondary education at Highgate School (whose art master was the Welsh landscapist Kyffin Williams, RA) was employed in a large North London firm of builders' merchants, before being conscripted into the Royal Navy as a student of the Russian language. He subsequently served as an interpreter, visiting Russia on several occasions with various delegations.

In 1958 Patrick entered the Slade, where he was influenced by William Coldstream, Keith Vaughan, William Townsend, Claude Rogers, Robert Medley and others, developing his painting style in the dark, figurative tradition then prevailing. After graduating from the Slade in 1962 he travelled to Italy and Greece, in the company of Michael Upton. Upon his return he produced a number of large images of figures in a landscape which formed the basis of his first exhibition at the Redfern Gallery the following year. All of the paintings sold prior to the opening. Shortly after this he moved into the flat in St Marylebone formerly occupied by William Coldstream. Patrick is still in residence to this day.

To date, Patrick's career has been characterised by further periods of overseas travel, which continue to provide inspiration for new works. An early trip to the USA, in the company of David Hockney, Norman Stevens and Colin Self, was followed by visits to India and Nepal (1970) Venice (1972), South Africa (1974), China (1980), Belize (1983), Portugal (1985) and South East Asia (1992). Overseas exhibitions have included New York (1968), the Galleria del Cavallino in Venice (1972 and 1986), the Galerie Biedermann in Munich (1976, 1989 and 1992), the IAM Galleria, Lisbon and Le Cadre Gallery, Hong Kong (1987 and 1993), Galleria Ghelfi (1990), Galerie Coard, Paris (1992) and Tokyo Art Fair/Galerie Enatsu (1992). Throughout this period Patrick has also had numerous exhibitions at the Redfern Gallery and elsewhere in the UK. His work is held in many major public collections, including The Arts Council of Great Britain, The Contemporary Arts Society, The Imperial War Museum (London), Los Angeles County Museum, The National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), New College, Oxford, Sao Paulo Museum of Art (Brazil), The Old Jail Art Centre (Texas, USA), The University of Leeds and The Whitworth Art Gallery (Manchester).

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