John Michael Wishart (June 12, 1928 – June 29, 1996) known as Michael Wishart, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

figurative painter who spent most of his career in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, America and North Africa. A friend of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

and

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. His early career as a painter was inf ...

, he published a memoir in 1977 entitled ''High Diver'' (in French ''Le Saut de l'ange''), which caused a scandal with its description of his

bohemian lifestyle Bohemianism is a social and cultural movement that has, at its core, a way of life away from society's conventional norms and expectations. The term originates from the French ''bohème'' and spread to the English-speaking world. It was used to ...

Biography

Born on June 12, 1928, in the London borough of St Pancras, Wishart was the first son of Ernest Wishart (1902–1987), co-founder of the Marxist publishing house

Lawrence and Wishart Lawrence & Wishart is a British publishing company formerly associated with the Communist Party of Great Britain. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Martin Lawrence, the Communist Party's press, and Wishart Ltd, a family-owned left-wing ...

, and of

Lorna Garman Lorna Cecilia Wishart, née Garman (11 January 1911 – 12 January 2000) was the youngest of the nine children of Walter Garman, an eccentric medical doctor, and his wife Margaret. Lorna, her six sisters and her two brothers grew up at Oake ...

(1911–2000), future model and mistress of the painter Lucian Freud. His godmother was the collector

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemianism, bohemian, and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who we ...

, and his half-sister Yasmin was the daughter of

Laurie Lee Laurence Edward Alan Lee, (26 June 1914 – 13 May 1997) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter, who was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire. His most notable work is the autobiographical trilogy '' Cider w ...

. Raised in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, he studied at

Bedales School Bedales School is a coeducational boarding and day public school, in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by Amy Garrett Badley and John Haden Badley in reaction to the li ...

, at the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School ...

in London and at the Anglo-French Art School in

St. John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough ...

, where he was taught by

Óscar Domínguez Óscar M. Domínguez (aka Oscar Dominguez, Oscar Domínguez Palazón, Oscar Manuel Domínguez Palazón, O. Domínguez, Oscar Manuel Domínguez) (3 January 1906 – 31 December 1957) was a Spanish-born French surrealist painter, commercial artist ...

Antoni Clavé Antoni Clavé (5 April 1913 – 31 August 2005) was a Catalan master painter, printmaker, sculptor, stage designer and costume designer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design) for his work on t ...

Jean Lurçat Jean Lurçat (; 1 July 1892 – 6 January 1966) was a French artist noted for his role in the revival of contemporary tapestry. Biography He was born in Bruyères, Vosges, the son of Lucien Jean Baptiste Lurçat and Marie Emilie Marguerite ...

and

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes, and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was bor ...

. He then studied with the painter

Cedric Morris Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet (11 December 1889 – 8 February 1982) was a British artist, Visual arts education, art teacher and plantsman. He was born in Swansea in South Wales, but worked mainly in East Anglia. As an artist he is be ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. He had early success with his first major exhibition at the

Redfern Gallery The Redfern Gallery is an exhibition space in the West End of London specialising in contemporary British art. It was founded by Arthur Knyvett-Lee and Anthony Maxtone Graham in 1923 as an artists' cooperative on the top floor of Redfern H ...

in 1956. It was given a glowing review by

David Sylvester Anthony David Bernard Sylvester (21 September 1924 – 19 June 2001) was a British art critic and curator. Although he received no formal education in the arts, during his long career he was influential in promoting modern artists, in particula ...

who had hung the exhibition for him, so much so that Wishart stated that he had been overawed by the reaction, giving him doubts as to whether he would be able to live up to it. In the eyes of several who knew him and his work, this he signally failed to do, succumbing instead to a hedonistic lifestyle, his painting activity continuing only because "his need to paint was always stronger than a desire to go under." He married on June 12, 1950, the artist Anne Dunn, with whom he had a son in 1953, Francis. They divorced in 1960 (Dunn later married the painter

Rodrigo Moynihan (Herbert George) Rodrigo MoynihanBurke's Landed Gentry 1970, pg 876 (17 October 1910 – 6 November 1990) was an English painter, credited with being a pioneer of abstract painting in England. Early life Moynihan was born in Santa Cruz de Tene ...

). His half-sister Yasmin David was also a painter. Wishart wrote a second volume of memoirs, entitled ''Injury Time'', which is yet to be published.Obituary by Philip Hoare in ''The Independent'', 2 July 1996
/ref> He died on June 29, 1996, in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wishart, Michael 1928 births 1996 deaths 20th-century English painters English expatriates in France English gay artists English LGBTQ painters LGBTQ people from London English modern painters Painters from London People educated at Bedales School People from St Pancras, London Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Gay painters 20th-century English LGBTQ people