Bob Mitchell (1915–1985), Director of the St Christopher's Players 1986
Peter Deighan (b.1941)
The Culture Trust, Luton
Prolific painter, and teacher, born in County Monaghan, Ireland, who spent his first 14 years on a farm, which gave him a special understanding of animals. Deighan (pronounced Dee-han) worked for a furniture-making firm Kerr Brothers, then was a welder at Vauxhall’s Luton plant, where his winning submission in a factory art competition led to the offer of a scholarship to study art. He attended Luton College of Art and taught 10 years part-time. When the young Deighan requested of the butler at Woburn Abbey that he be allowed to paint the Duke of Bedford, the subject was so pleased by the outcome that he commissioned further works for the family, among whom his daughter-in-law, the Marchioness of Tavistock, opted for a portrait of her mare Golden Plate.
Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)
