I am one of those artists who, having completed their Art School training by 1935, only had four years in which to establish themselves before war put an end to their careers – in many cases forever. In those days there were few travelling scholarships, bursaries or prizes: those who could went off to Paris to further their development. My main influences were Cézanne and Van Gogh, but I had no desire to be an adherent of any art movement. Instead I wished to find some remote and inspiring place, devoid of galleries and exhibitions, where I hoped to find out whether I had a voice of my own.
1912 Born Longthorpe, Peterborough, England
1927-1931 Educated at Ampleforth College, Yorkshire
1931-1935 Studied at Slade School of Art, London University
1937 Portrait painting in the Republic of Ireland
1938-1939 Lived and painted in Connemara
1939-1945 Served in Durham Light Infantry (commissioned)
1943-1944 Wounded in Tunisia and spend a year’s sick leave painting
1946 Second stay in Connemara painting
1947-1978 Joined staff of Edinburgh College of Art, where he taught drawing, painting and anatomy at senior level until retirement
1950 Elected Member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
1965-1969 Further visits to Ireland
1976 Elected Member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour
1989 Elected Associate Member of the Royal Scottish Academy
2005 Elected Member of the Royal Scottish Academy
2013 Royal Scottish Academy retrospective exhibition
2014 Made Member of the Order of the British Empire
