Derek Chittock (21 February 1922 – 21 February 1986) was a British art critic, art historian and portrait painter. He was also active as a cartoonist, creating the gag comics ''Bennie'' and ''Barley Bottom'' in the late 1950s, early 1960s.

Biography

Chittock studied at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

between 1942 and 1947 under

Randolph Schwabe Randolph Schwabe (9 May 1885 – 19 September 1948) was a British draughtsman, painter and etcher who was the Slade Professor of Fine Art at University College London from 1930 until his death. He served as a war artist in both World Wars, crea ...

and continued his art education under

Philip Connard Philip Connard, (24 March 1875 – 8 December 1958) was a British painter known particularly for his paintings of decorative landscapes. Connard rose from humble origins to become an eminent artist in oils and watercolours whose commissions bro ...

at the

Royal Academy schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

. Although still a student at the time, Chittock was commissioned by the War Artists' Advisory Committee to paint two portraits of Admiralty subjects near the end of World War Two. Chittock was a member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

and in the early 1950s was recruited by the

Artists' International Association The Artists' International Association (AIA) was an organisation founded in London in 1933 out of discussion among Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland, Edward Ardizzone, Peter Laszlo Peri'Artist ...

to serve on the selection committee for their ''Artists for Peace'' exhibitions. Chittock also worked as the art critic for the

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...

newspaper. He resigned that post, and his membership of the Communist Party, in 1956 following the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. Chittock, who sometimes signed his work as ''James Dudley'', completed several covers for the magazine '' John Bull''. Chittock, who at times painted in the

Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

style, exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, the New English Art Club and for long periods lived in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and Sevenoaks.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chittock, Derek British art critics 1922 births 1986 deaths 20th-century British painters Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art British draughtsmen British male painters British war artists British comics artists Communist Party of Great Britain members English illustrators World War II artists 20th-century British male artists