John O'Connor RWS

John O'Connor was born in Leicester where he attended the College of Art in 1931-34, then the Royal College of Art in 1934-37, where his teachers included Eric Ravilious and John Nash. After service in the Royal Air Force in 1942-46, O'Connor continued his teaching career, begun at Birmingham College of Art in 1937, then Bristol College of Art in 1938-41, principal of Colchester School of Art in 1948-64. Regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy. Had many solo shows including a series at Zwemmer Gallery in 1955-1968; New Grafton Gallery from 1970, and retrospectives at Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow and the John Russell Gallery in Ipswich in 1999. Arts Council, Tate Gallery, British Museum and many other public collections hold examples of his work (see BBC Your Paintings).