CHASE, Michael

1915 - 2001

Oliver Michael Chase was born Wandsworth, London on 1 August 1915, son of artist William Arthur Chase (17 May 1878-29 September 1944) and his wife Lillian née Day (21 September 1875-13 June 1966), who married at Greenwich in 1902. Oliver attended evening classes at Hornsey College of Art and Chelsea School of Art. His artistic career began after his service as an officer in the army during the Second World War, when he became a trainee in a firm interior decorators. This was followed by management of the Zwemmer Gallery in Kensington 1954-1965, and at the Minories, Colchester 1966-1974 when he had close contact with many leading artists of his day, such as Edward Bawden; John Nash; Winifred Nicholson (21 December 1893-5 March 1981); John Piper (13 December 1903-28 June 1992), Michael Rothenstein (19 March 1908-6 July 1993); Julian Trevelyan (20 February 1910-12 July 1988) and many others, he also gave Australian painter Arthur Boyd (24 July 1920-24 April 1999), his first London showing. Despite drawing and painting all his life, he only commenced day-to-day work as an artist in 1976, being captivated by the medium of water-colour. He worked under the name of Michael Chase and his varied subject matter ranged from landscape interpretation to abstraction and drew from visits to France, Italy, Greece, and Egypt as well as England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and many other mixed shows including the Colchester Art Society and won the Barcham Green Company award at open exhibition at the Bankside Gallery in 1986. Solo exhibitions include at Minories, Colchester in 1981, Clare Hall, Cambridge in 1992, the John Russell Gallery, Ipswich 1994 and Chappel Galleries, Essex in 1996, who held a Chase family exhibition in 2000 including works by his third wife known as Valerie Maskell Chase (17 September 1936-). Art Group Ltd have published seven of his paintings as posters since 1989 and his works are featured in many public collections and Education Committees. He married three times, firstly at Kensington, London in 1946, Rowena Musgrave Whitham (27 February 1920-23 January 2012), secondly at London City in 1966, Valerie Thornton and they had one daughter, and thirdly at Sudbury, Suffolk in 1995, Daphne Valerie Wheeler (17 September 1936-). Oliver Michael Chase lived at Lower Common Farmhouse, Chelsworth, Ipswich where he died on 1 November 2001.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from Lower Common Farmhouse, Chelsworth, Ipswich
1985 745 Umbrian Temple
         1061 Tarquinia Country
1987 933 Pieve S Nicolo

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Works by This Artist