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16 Facts About Alan Durst

1.

Alan Lydiat Durst was a British sculptor and wood carver and member of the London Group of artists.

2.

Alan Durst was born at the rectory in Alverstoke, Hampshire, England on 27 June 1883.

3.

Alan Durst was the son of William Durst who was the Rector of Alverstoke.

4.

Alan Durst married Elizabeth Clare Amy Barlow on 11 December 1918.

5.

Alan Durst died on 22 December 1970 and his funeral took place on Tuesday 29 December 1970 at Golders Green Crematorium.

6.

Alan Durst was educated at Marlborough College and in Switzerland.

7.

In 1913 he enrolled at the London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts As part of his studies Alan Durst visited Chartres in early 1914.

8.

Alan Durst went in fact to study stained glass windows but in his private papers held at Tate Britain Archive he explained that he was so taken with the magnificence of the statuary of Chartres Cathedral that he determined to pursue sculpture as a career.

9.

Alan Durst served in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, first joining as a second lieutenant in 1901.

10.

Alan Durst was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1902, and served until 1913 when he was placed on the "Retired List" and began his studies at the School of Art.

11.

Alan Durst returned to the Royal Marines in July 1914 and served from 1914 to 1919.

12.

Alan Durst left that museum to take up sculpture and wood carving on a full-time basis, and taught wood carving at the Royal College of Art from 1925 to 1940 and from 1945 to 1948.

13.

Alan Durst had his first solo exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in London in 1930 and another in 1935.

14.

Alan Durst was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy.

15.

Alan Durst states that he was an admirer of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska the French sculptor killed in action in 1915.

16.

Alan Durst was appointed a member of The British School at Rome in 1945 - Faculty of Sculpture.