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10 Facts About Carel Weight

1.

Carel Weight's father was a bank cashier and his mother, who was of Swedish and German descent, was a chiropodist.

2.

Carel Weight studied at the Hammersmith School of Art from 1928 to 1930.

3.

At Goldsmiths College, between 1931 and 1933, Weight developed his preference for imaginative compositions.

4.

Carel Weight wrote to the War Artists' Advisory Committee, WAAC, in December 1939 seeking work as a war artist.

5.

In July 1942 Carel Weight's painting of a zebra that escaped from London Zoo during an air raid was purchased, but his commanding officer would not release him for further WAAC commissions.

6.

Carel Weight landed in Naples in March 1945 and travelled to Rome, Perugia, Verona, Florence and reached Ravenna in October that year.

7.

In 1947, Carel Weight began teaching at the Royal College of Art, and was professor of painting there from 1957.

8.

Carel Weight painted a number of acclaimed portraits, most notably one of Orovida Camille Pissarro, but of less famous individuals.

9.

Carel Weight was an instructor, mentor and good friend to John Bratby and Jean Cooke.

10.

Works by Carel Weight are owned by the Tate Gallery, Huddersfield Art Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Imperial War Museum and feature in the United Kingdom Government Art Collection.