Norman Stevens was born in Bradford in 1937. Disabled by polio at a young age, he familiarised himself with artistic practices by assisting his father in his work as a signwriter. Later, he enrolled at the Bradford School of Art (1952–1957), studying alongside members of a clique nicknamed the Bradford Mafia, which included David Hockney, David Oxtoby, Mike Vaughan and John Loker. From Bradford, he moved to the Royal College of Art to study painting (1957–1960), where he was awarded the Lloyd Landscape and Abbey Minor Travelling scholarships. After graduating, Stevens taught at art schools in Manchester and Maidstone and became Head of Fine Art at Hornsey College before a Gregory Fellowship at Leeds University (1974–1975).
Stevens cut this teaching experience short in 1973 to focus full-time on his artistic practice. Inspired by a trip to California, he made Mezzotint printmaking his specialty by collaborating chiefly with master printers James Collyer and John Crossley of JC Editions, and later Brad Faine of Coriander Studio, to master a diverse range of print media.
In his own art, Stevens translated the poetry inherent to deceptively simple scenes he witnessed in America to the quaint beauty of the English countryside. In doing so, he developed his own palette, formal motifs (natural landscapes and elements such as flowers), imbuing them with a romantically inspired sense of mystery.
Stevens featured in prominent survey shows such as British Painting 1952–1977 at the Royal Academy, and the first British Art Show in 1979. His print work was the subject of retrospectives held at the Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, in 1975, and the Redfern Gallery, London, in 1980, 1989, 2003 and 2008 (the latter alongside the work of Hockney, Oxtoby, Loker and Mike Vaughan). He was also acknowledged with various awards, including the Chichester Arts Festival Prize (1975) and an award at the John Moores Exhibition, Liverpool (1983). He also exhibited regularly at the British International Print Biennale in Bradford, and was a prize winner there in 1979 and 1982.
Norman passed away in 1988.
