A son of Colchester, born in 1950, Malcolm Root has since lived in Halstead, Essex. He has put Halstead on the map to people outside the south east through his painting and subsequent 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, Steam Train at Halstead, manufactured by King.
When
he was still at secondary school Malcolm achieved second place in a National Art
Competition sponsored by Brooke Bond and at sixteen years
of age left school to pursue a career in the printing trade. He continued to paint however, watercolours at first, oils later. After much self-examination and reflection,
he decided in 1981 to become a full time artist.
Commissions followed at regular intervals, particularly from his friends, but also assisted by several small exhibitions.
Malcolm's greatest interest is in 20thcentury transport and its impact on ordinary people.The
leisurely way that people travelled before the car became the dominant mode of travel is of
particular interest to him and is mirrored in many of his paintings. His
skill as a top railway artist has benefited from fond memories of steam train travel in the late 1950’s and 1960’s when the steam age was
undergoing many changes, and ultimately, ended. As a result of his mastery of his trade he was elected a Full Member of the
Guild of Railway Artists (GRA) in 1983 and had pictures
hung in GRA exhibitions. Subsequently he has had four books of his paintings published including two of his railway paintings - The
Railway Paintings of Malcolm Root (1996), and Malcolm Root’s Railway Paintings (2004). In 2010 he was awarded the distinction of Fellow of the Guild of Railway Artists.
