Harrow Hill

Artist's biography

Name:

Keith Vaughan

Lived:

1912 - 1977

Qualifications:

Keith Vaughan had no formal art training, but became a significant figure in the British art world after the Second World War, and taught at Camberwell School of Art, Central School, and the Slade. He began his career as a commercial layout artist in advertising before the war, and painted and drew during his wartime army service in Britain, before becoming a full-time artist and teacher. Vaughan was part of a 1950s and 60s London network of artists which included John Minton, Robert Colquhoun, and Robert MacBryde (the 'two Roberts' who were based at Tilty Mill, near Great Dunmow, in the early 1950s). <br><br>Vaughan's lasting connection with north west Essex dates from 1964, when Michael Ayrton showed Vaughan three condemned artisans' cottages in Toppesfield. Vaughan bought them for 500, spent 2,000 converting them, but received 500 compensation when an electricity pylon was erected nearby. Harrow Hill became a retreat for Vaughan from the London scene, although he continued to live in Belsize Park and work in London until his death in 1977, from suicide while in the later stages of cancer.<br><br>