Keith Shackleton is considered among the very best bird and wildlife artists of his generation and acclaimed for his masterful handling of sea and capturing the icescapes of Antarctica and the Arctic. A multi-talented individual, he was also a wildlife conservationist, naturalist, television presenter, pilot and yachtsman.
The son of a leading aircraft designer, Shackleton spent five years in the RAF before joining the family aviation business as a salesman and pilot. He travelled widely and painted in his spare time before becoming a full-time artist in 1960.
He was a founder member and President of The Society of Wildlife Artists and also served as President of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and Chairman of the Artist’s League of Great Britain. In 1986 he received the award of ‘Master Artist’ by North America’s wildlife art institution the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.
From 1969 he made multiple trips to Antarctica, as a member of the naturalist team aboard the Lindblad Explorer, the first ice working exploration passenger vessel. Among other staff on the ship was friend, fellow artist and conservationist Sir Peter Scott (1909-1989), who wrote the foreword to Shackleton’s 1986 book, Ship in the Wilderness: Voyages of the M.S. "Lindblad Explorer" Through the Last Wild Places on Earth. As a conservationist Shackleton helped Peter Scott in setting up the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, of which he was vice-president, and he gave huge support to wildlife conservation in the Antarctic. He was awarded an MBE for services to wildlife conservation in 2012.
He was a recognisable face on television, co-presenting ‘Animal Magic’ with Johnny Morris in the 60s before hosting his own series ‘Animals in Action’ in the late 70s and early 80s. He illustrated several books and published various art books of his own work, including Wildlife and Wilderness – an artist’s world in 1986 and Keith Shackleton – an autobiography in Paintings in 1998. A passionate small boat sailor, he represented Great Britain in international dinghy meetings.
A major retrospective of Shackleton’s polar works was held in 2007 at the Scott Polar Research Institute which has several works in its permanent collection. Other notable collections which hold examples include the National Maritime Museum, Nature in Art Museum and Williamson Art Gallery and Museum.