Evan Charlton (1904-1984)

Having trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, Evan Charlton spent most of his working life in Wales, firstly as head of Cardiff School of Art, and subsequently as Schools Inspector for Art in Wales and England. Although he painted throughout his career and became associated with the British Surrealist movement, it was only after taking early retirement in the 1960s that he painted full-time.  Even then, the meticulous detail and extremely fine feathery brushwork of his mature work meant that he completed only three or four paintings a year, ensuring that the total number of his works is very small.  Many of these are already in public and private collections, including the National Museum of Wales and the Tate Gallery, now Tate Britain, which acquired one of his paintings in 1996.