Biography
Sculptor, painter in a variety of media and printmaker of figures
and landscapes; illustrator, draughtsman, theatrical designer;
film maker, writer and art critic. He studied at art schools
in London, lived in Vienna in 1936 and between 1937 and 1939
spent long periods in France, sharing a studio with John Minton
in Paris where they studied with Eugene Berman. He also worked
in Chirico's studio and in 1938 went to Les Baux with Minton
and Michael Middleton.
He travelled
widely througout his life, particularly in France, Italy and
Greece and he first exhibited with Minton in 1942 at the Leicester
Galleries. He subsequently showed regularly in London galleries
and internationally.
His
work is represented in public collections including the Tate
Gallery and MOMA, New York. His work is characterised by its
range: he illustrated many books and his interest in theatre
design was stimulated by collaborations with Minton and Constant
Lambert. As a film maker he worked with Basil Wright and his
own writing ranged from novels to art criticism.
In Vienna
in 1936 he was influenced by Flemish art but later in the mid
1940s his neo-romantic landscapes show the influence of Sutherland
and Nash. He began to sculpt in bronze in the early 1950's,
receiving some advice from Henry Moore and visited Cumae in
1956-7 and Greece in 1958, turning to Greek myth as his principal
source of inspiration particularly the legends of Daedelus and
Icarus, the Minotaur and the image of the maze. His powerful
style sought to reinterpret mythological ideas in terms of the
figure.