George Chapman

George Chapman

1903 - 1993

b. 1908 in East Ham, London. Had a level of deafness and dyslexia which hindered his education. Showed an early interest in art. Attended Gravsend School of Art (1924-28). Left Art School to train as a commercial designer under Ashley Havinden, Head of Design at Crawford's (1928). Income from commercial design used to pay his own way at the Slade School of Art (1937). Persuaded to transfer to the Royal College of Art to study painting. For ten years, while in south Wales valleys, he produced a large numbers of drawings, etchings and paintings of the villages that make up the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach Valleys. Late in his life he continued to paint the Rhondda, reflecting the changes that have occurred there since he began painting the area around 1953. His graphic design is evident in his work as a printmaker.