Michael Ayrton

Michael Ayrton
Sculpture of Talos on Guildhall Street in Cambridge
Born	Michael A. Gould February 20, 1921(1921-02-20) St Pancras, London, England
Died	November 17, 1975 (aged 54) Hampstead, London, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	artist, writer, painter, printmaker, sculptor, critic, broadcaster and novelist
Spouse	Elizabeth Evelyn Balchin née Walshe (1910-1991)
Parents	Gerald Gould & Barbara Ayrton

Michael Ayrton (b. 20 February 1921 – d. 17 November 1975), was an English artist and writer, known as a painter, printmaker and sculptor, and also as a critic, broadcaster and novelist. He was a stage and costume designer, working with John Minton on the 1942 John Gielgud production of Macbeth from age 19; and a book designer and illustrator, for Wyndham Lewis's The Human Age trilogy and William Golding. He also collaborated with Constant Lambert. His work is in several important collections including the Tate Gallery, London, National Portrait Gallery, London, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Fry Art Gallery, Essex.

He was born Michael A. Gould in St Pancras, London ^[1], his parents being Gerald Gould and Barbara Ayrton; he took his mother's maiden name professionally. In 1952, he married Elizabeth Evelyn Walshe (1910-1991), the former wife of author Nigel Balchin ^[2]. He died in 1975 at Hampstead, London ^[3].

[edit] References

^ GRO Register of Births: MAR 1921 1b 45 PANCRAS - Michael A. Gould, mmn = Ayrton
^ GRO Register of Marriages: DEC 1952 5d 585 MARYLEBONE - Ayrton = Balchin or Walshe
^ GRO Register of Deaths: DEC 1975 12 2044 HAMPSTEAD - Michael Ayrton, DoB 21 Feb 1921

J. Laver (1947) The Paintings of Michael Ayrton
C. P. Snow (1962) Michael Ayrton: Drawings & Sculpture
Peter Cannon-Brookes (1978) Michael Ayrton: An Illustrated Commentary
Justine Hopkins (1994) Michael Ayrton — a Biography
Jacob E. Nyenhuis (2003) Myth and the Creative Process: Michael Ayrton and the Myth of Daedalus, the Maze Maker