Charles Bronson, 70, Britain’s most infamous inmate will launch a most important art display hoping it will aid him in moving on to a new chapter of his life after being inside a prison cell for almost 50 years.
Bronson is the subject of two parole hearings next month to decide if he can go free after 47 years in some of Britain’s harshest jails.
Who is Charles Bronson?
Born Michael Peterson, he was first incarcerated in 1974 for armed robbery.
Apart from two brief spells of freedom, he has been locked up ever since, with his terms increased due to his repeated violence inside.
The Parole Board recently confirmed that hearings will be held on March 6 and 8 to decide whether Bronson, who was played by Tom Hardy in a 2008 biopic of his life, can go free.
At present, he is a Category A inmate in HMP Woodhill, Bucks. Bronson has at times been held in all of England’s three secure psychiatric hospitals.
When he was released from his first stint inside in 1987, he made his living as an unlicensed boxer in London’s East End.
His promoter suggested he change his name to Charles Bronson, in tribute to the hard-man Hollywood actor whose movies included Death Wish and The Great Escape.
The following year Bronson was back behind bars for robbing a jewelry store.
He went on to become the most violent inmate in British jails, often taking hostages during his many confrontations with guards.
On one occasion he smeared himself in butter during a rumble with officers in riot gear, hoping the grease would make it harder to restrain him.
He was upset that Arsenal had won the FA Cup. His sentence was eventually increased to life imprisonment. But in recent years he claims to have turned over a new leaf, channeling his energies into art.
He changed his name to Charles Salvador in tribute to Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali.
The inmate-artist
He started painting in 1994.
In one illustration depicting Bronson in a cage in “HMP Madness”, he wrote: “Inside the cage I found myself.
“I became an artist . . . a man on a mission. I changed from a madman into a genius. My art saved my soul.”
Bronson has said: “My world is bars. Bars, and cameras, locked doors, high walls, and barbed wire.
“What do people expect me to paint? Flowers, landscapes, bowls of fruit? This is my life.”
His vast collection going on show in the Stay Sane exhibition next week includes unseen pieces, 3D art, poems, and personal writings.
Friend Richard Booth, who helped with the exhibition, said: “Nobody condones criminality but I do believe that offenders can be helped to break the cycle of reoffending.
“Charlie has used his art to help rehabilitate himself. Helping young offenders has become increasingly important to him.
He wants to use his experience to prevent others from following the same path.”
However, former Met Police Flying Squad detective Peter Kirkham believes it is wrong for prisoners to be allowed to cash in on their notoriety.
The art exhibition
The exhibit will have approximately 8,500 of his sketches, paintings, poems, and personal writings up for sale at East London’s Henarch Galleries.
Currently, there are also 1,500 digital NFT artworks on sale online.
Prices start at £450 and go up to £30,000. If the sale does reach £ 1.5 million, then £ 1 million will go to charity, while £500,000 will be held in trust for Bronson until he is released.
Bronson’s London exhibition is a collaboration between the prisoner, Crypto Correct, and the Born For Art Foundation, which will receive a third of all funds raised through the sale of the NFTs.
A spokesman for the exhibition said: “Some people say the artwork shows the dark corners of a disturbed mind. But supporters say the scenes reflect the events he has witnessed and lived. It is an art that has come straight from his soul.”
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