Ian Nathan was born in 1954 and spent his formative years in the beautiful Devon town of Teignmouth, where his ancestors had lived and worked as fisherman and lifeboatmen. He showed an ability to paint and draw from an early age, but for a while other pastimes took over. He began by boxing for his local club, while at the same time being taught to dance by the famous local teacher Barbara Spencer Edwards. In 1969, at the age of just 14, he joined the Royal Ballet School of Dancing, in London, where he trained for four years. He had the experience of dancing at Covent Garden Opera House and watching at close quarters one of the most famous dance partnerships of all times, Fonteyn and Nureyev.
Realising the ballet world was not for him, Ian returned to Teignmouth and began working as a labourer on the docks. He then enrolled on a graphic design course, but left after two years, when he was offered his first exhibition to coincide with the opening of Torquay’s Triton gallery. The exhibition was a sell out, and soon he was selling his work in London’s most prestigious galleries. Ian eventually joined the Halcyon gallery in 1990, where his first major show sold out within an hour. During the Halcyon years he took part in several gala evenings, painting pictures for Princess Anne to raise money for her charities. His originals and limited editions of British wildlife continue to forge his reputation as one of the finest artists in Britain.