GENTLEMAN, David William

1930 - ?

David William Gentleman was born at Brentford, London on 11 March 1930, son of artists Thomas Gentleman (13 May 1892-29 November 1966) and his wife Eugenie Winifred née Murgatroyd (10 October 1899-1966), who had met as painting students at the Glasgow School of Art and married at Kensington, London in 1928, and in 1939 were living at Fair Isle Road, Hertford. David grew up in Hertford, attending Hertford Grammar School and St Albans School of Art 1947-1948. After national service as an education sergeant in the Royal Army Education Corps, he continued his studies at the Royal College of Art under Edward Bawden and John Nash. He remained there as a junior tutor for two years before becoming a freelance artist-designer. Working in various media, watercolour, lithography, wood engraving and at scales ranging from the platform-length murals for Charing Cross underground station in London, to postage stamps and logos, his themes have varied widely, from paintings of landscape and environmental posters for the National Trust to drawings of street life in London and protest placards against the Iraq war. In 1970 appointed Royal Designer for Industry and has lived and worked at 25 Gloucester Crescent, Camden Town since 1971, also living in Suffolk where he was taught wood-engraving by typographer John Lewis who was also design director of Cowell’s of Ipswich. This led to a lot of work for advertisers and publishers, this settled existence has been punctuated by spells of travelling connected with his work, with longer periods in France, Italy, Spain and India, shorter spells in South Carolina, Africa, Samoa, Nauru, and Brazil. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and his work is represented in Tate Britain, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum. David is the author and an illustrator of several books about his travels. He married at Hertford in August 1953, Rosalind Alathea Dease, a fellow student at the Royal College of Art, and they had one daughter, and after their divorce in 1967, he married secondly at St Pancras, London in 1968, Susan G. Evans, daughter of the Suffolk writer George Ewart Evans (1909-1988) and was the father of two further daughters and a son.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from 25 Garfield Road, London
1952 946 Island Harvest: Bréhat - watercolour
         1031 The Beacon at Beglegues - watercolour
from 51 Gloucester Crescent, London
1956 764The Roman Theatre at Arles - watercolour
         849 Piazza del Campo, Siena - watercolour
         894 Mistley Towers - watercolour
1960 799 Nerja, Malaga - watercolour
         861 Cirella Calabria - watercolour
         1031 Mistley Quay - watercolour
1963 864 Maltings at Mistley - watercolour
         876 Alders on the Chalaux - watercolour

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Works by This Artist