John Christopherson

John was born in Blackheath in 1921 and spent five years in Hampstead in the 1960s before moving to Greenwich where he remained until his death in 1996.
He was completely self-taught as an artist but began collecting and paintings after meeting the sculptor, Jacob Epstein in 1950. He was strongly influence by the "Art Brut" movement in France and especially by Jean Dubuffet, with whom he used to correspond. Although fascinated by the work of Nicholson, Paolozzi and Albert Reynolds, who was a close friend, it is to Europe that we need to look for his major influences such as de Stael, Giacometti, Marini, Brancusi, Fautrier and Wols.

Initially, he used to paint in his spare time along with his lifetime passions of attending auctions, visiting antique markets and listening to jazz. However, in 1959 he resigned from his job with the Civil Service and became a painter full time.

Despite being untrained he had 17 solo exhbitions during his career at galleries such as the ICA, the Leicester galleries and the Marjorie Parr Gallery.