Artist in oil, watercolour and occasionally gouache, born in Waterloo, Liverpool, as Ronald William Kirby. He attended Liverpool City School of Art, 1942–9, teachers including Martin Bell, Will C Penn, George Jardine, Alfred Wiffen and Allan Tankard. Kirby’s influences “were Brueghel, Bosch and Brangwyn. I aim to continue the classical tradition and avoid the fads and fashions of the moment. I would like to preserve a sense of wonder in a world obsessed with materialism.” This found expression in his The Voyage of the Ayeguy, latter-day altar-pieces in science fiction mode. As a science fiction book illustrator, Kirby was noted for his Ray Bradbury and Terry Pratchett jackets. Kirby had periods painting in a film poster studio in London and freelanced briefly in Paris.