| By :
Martin Hofschroer
It may come as surprising news but Rolf Harris is one of the most famous artists in the world. The Australian came top of a 1992 poll which asked 1,000 visitors to the London ArtMart exhibition to name the world's most famous artist and an amazing 38 per cent of respondents said Rolf Harris. Rolf managed to beat Romantic English painter John Constable who came second with 23 per cent, while fellow Romantic J.M.W Turner and Dutch painter Rembrant did not even place. In another display of Rolf's popularity the Daily Telegraph found that more people preferred the entertainer's artwork to that of British enfant terrible Damien Hirst who famously preserved and dissected dead animals in formaldehyde for his exhibitions. Hirst raised a record-breaking £111 million at an auction in Sotheby's by selling a complete show "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever" but Rolf revealed he was unconvinced by the artist's unconventional style. Harris told the Telegraph: "I'm not sure what that's all about. I mean, he's a fine artist. He did that fantastic sculpture outside the Royal Academy of the pregnant woman that was about 30ft high. But I can't see any joy in an animal being put in formaldehyde." Rolf's popularity is so great among British art enthusiasts that he is currently on a national tour in celebration of his eightieth birthday and his 65 years as an artist. Donietta, Peterborough told The List magazine that she enjoyed viewing Rolf Harris prints at one gallery on his "A Life in Art" tour. She said: "My favourite painting was Gondalas Pass, a scene in Venice, and he is very good at painting nudes too. I think I might offer myself to pose for him. "I grew up being encouraged by Rolf Harris to pick up a paintbrush, so it meant a lot to me to attend this art exhibition. Thank you so much Mr Harris." The "A Life in Art" tour has a number of Rolf Harris prints, originals paintings and sculptures as well as a collection of self portraits. Rolf's most recent self portrait features the entertainer sporting a new pair of glasses, which he believes gave his facial expression more focus. He said: "I took a photo of myself in the mirror to work from then took another one of my right hand holding the brush (which I stuck onto the original photo). I wanted to get a real look of concentration in the painting and I think it works." Rolf Harris was named as one of the top 40 most eccentric TV presenters of all time, in a 2004 Radio Times list.
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