WALTON, Allan

1891 - 1948

Norman Allan Walton, known as Allan Walton, was born at Holly Bank, Cheadle Hume, Cheshire on 20 October 1891, youngest of the four children of Allan Walton (1853-18 May 1903), a cotton bleacher, dyer & finisher, and his wife Rebecca Anne née Marshal (1856-17 May 1934), who married at Stockport in 1879. His father died at 65 Promenade, Southport in 1895 and in 1901, young Allan was a 9-year-old, living at Holly Villa, Cheadle Hume, Stockport with two older siblings, Ada Beatrice born 12 November 1882 and Allan Roger born 25 October 1889, his mother was absent, their other child was Rebecca Mary born 25 March 1881. Allan was educated at Harrow School and studied architecture in London and in 1911, a 19-year-old 'architect', living at Netherlea, Bramhall Lane, Bramhall near Stockport, with his 54-year-old widowed mother, Rebecca Anne and siblings, Rebecca Mary 30, Ada Beatrice 28 and Allan Roger 21, a 'bleacher'. Allan abandoned his architectural studies and learnt to paint under Stanhope Forbes (1857-1947) in Cornwall, then studied at the Slade School of Fine Art 1913-1916 followed by the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and finally at the Westminster School of Art under Walter Sickert (1860-1942). A painter of still life, landscape and seascapes and had his first solo show at Beaux Arts Gallery in 1928, with another at Arthur Tooth Gallery in 1933, having mixed shows at the London Group of Artists, of which he was elected a member in 1925; Wertheim Gallery; Leicester Galleries and the Walker Art Gallery with Sally Hunter Fine Art holding several exhibitions of his work in the mid 1980s. In 1931, with brother Allan Roger Walton (1889-1949), they set up Allan Walton Textiles which pioneered new ground in printed cloth designs and promoted designs by his London Group colleagues, notably Duncan Grant (1885-1978) and Vanessa Bell (1879-1961). The decorative textile designs which Walton's firm produced are among the finest of their type, and Walton was elected one of the first Royal Designers for Industry. He became associated with the Bloomsbury Group and supplied all the textiles for Maynard Keynes's rooms at King's College Cambridge, but the firm closed at the outbreak of the Second World War. Allan had a country house by the sea and seascapes with yachts feature prominently in his work he also painted in the South of France where villas with overgrown gardens and terraces were frequent subjects. In 1939, an unmarried artist, designer, and director of a textile firm, living at Hill House, Shotley, near Ipswich with a housekeeper. He exhibited at the Ipswich Art Club in 1941, two works 'Bawdsey Shrimper' and 'Pre-War', another in 1942 'The Deben at Woodbridge' and two oils in 1943 'The Deben' and 'The Orwell'. Walton was director of the Glasgow School of Art 1943-1945 and in 1948 appointed professor of design at the Royal College of Art but died before he could take up the position. He was of Hill House, Shotley, Ipswich when he died at 9 St Andrew's Place, St Pancras, London on 12 September 1948, aged 57, he was unmarried. He signed his works 'Allan Walton' underlined.

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Works by This Artist