Bainbridge Copnall - Painter and Sculptor

My father wrote this first section of his autobiography shortly before his death in 1973. He wrote it in a long-hand scrawl in his studio at Lee Priory. Each page when completed was handed to my mother who typed it out, adjusting the grammar as she went. Unfortunately, he did not have the time to complete his story, stopping at his return from Burma in 1955. I have done my best to fill in the remaining years of his life. He had a very full, exciting journey, starting off his artistic career as a portrait painter, then working as a sculptor in many different media. He describes in detail his experience as Camouflage Officer in WW11, his job as head of the Sir John Cass College of Art, his work as an architectural sculptor and, of course, his trip to Burma. He was a man of immense energy and integrity. Many of his sculptures can still be seen in London and across the UK. He served a term as President of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and his book A Sculptor's Manual was published by Pergamon Press in 1971. Besides being a record of his artistic achievements, this book is a memoir of his personal life including his friendships, financial difficulties and his own philosophy.