Derek Davis (artist)
| Sunbathing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Derek Maynard Davis |
| Type | Acrylic on canvas |
| Dimensions | 30 cm × 40 cm (12 in × 16 in) |
Derek Maynard Davis(24 February 1926 – 3 September 2008) was anEnglishartist, working in the media ofpaintingandpottery.He was born inWandsworth,SouthLondon,where he was educated atEmanuel School.He joined theKing's Royal Rifle Corpsin 1943, to fight inWorld War II.[1]After the war he entered theCentral School of Arts and Craftsin London.[2]Together with his friendEric James Mellonhe then started a pottery workshop inHillesden,Buckinghamshire.[3]Later he left to work on his own, and moved toArundel,West Sussex.Here he developed his ceramics further, coming up with several innovative techniques.[3]An eye operation in 1994 left him unable to look through the hole in the potterykiln,and after this he started focusing on painting instead.[1]
Davis's work is characteristic for breaking with the functionalistic style ofBernard Leach,which was prevalent in the post-war years.[2]Davis was self-taught within the field of pottery, and his method has been described as "working as much by instinct as plan".[1]His pottery was featured at several separate exhibitions, and he had commissions from theBarbican Centreand the British embassies inBrasilia,Rome,Warsaw,andRiyadh.Davis met his wife Ruth Lambert inVentnoron theIsle of Wight,where he spent some time in asanatoriumafter college, suffering fromtuberculosis.Ruth, a patient at the same institution, was also a painter.[3]The couple married in 1953, and they had one son.[3]Davis died inChichester4 September 2008.
References
[edit]- ^abc"Derek Davis: potter whose distinctive style used colourful glazes".The Times.London. 10 September 2008.Retrieved13 September2008.
- ^ab"Derek Davis".Zimmer Stewart Gallery.Retrieved13 September2008.
- ^abcdCooper, Emmanuel (13 September 2008)."Derek Davis: Eclectic painter and potter".The Independent.Archived fromthe originalon 20 November 2010.Retrieved13 September2008.
Further reading
[edit]- Genders, Carolyn (2003).Derek Davis: Painter / Potter.Privately Printed.
- 1926 births
- 2008 deaths
- English potters
- 20th-century English painters
- English male painters
- 21st-century English painters
- People from Wandsworth
- People educated at Emanuel School
- 20th-century ceramists
- 21st-century ceramists
- British Army personnel of World War II
- King's Royal Rifle Corps soldiers
- 20th-century English male artists
- 21st-century English male artists