O'Connor, John Scorror, 1913–2004

Roach Bank 1963

John Scorror O'Connor (1913–2004)

University of Warwick

Painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer and teacher, born in Leicester where he attended the College of Art, 1931–4, then Royal College of Art, 1934–7, where his teachers included Eric Ravilious and John Nash, long a friend. After service in the Royal Air Force, 1941–6, O’Connor continued his teaching career, begun at Birmingham College of Art, 1937, then Bristol College of Art, 1938–41, by becoming principal of Colchester School of Art, 1948–64. Visiting lectureships included St Martin’s School of Art, 1964–74. O’Connor’s own written and illustrated books included Canals, Barges and People, 1950; Landscape Painting, 1967; The Technique of Wood Engraving, 1971; Introducing Relief Printing, 1973; and A View of Kilvert, 1981.

Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)

Art History Research net (AHR net)

John Scorror O’Connor was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, England on 11 August 1913. He studied at Leicester College of Art from 1930 to 1933 and at the Royal College of Art in London from 1933 to 1937 where he was taught by Eric Ravilious, John Nash and Robert Austin. He subsequently worked as a painter, illustrator and printmaker. He also taught at Birmingham School of Art in 1937-38, Bristol College of Art from 1938 to 1940; Hastings School of Art in Hastings, East Sussex (c.1946-47); Colchester School of Art, where he was Principal, from 1948 to 1964; St. Martin's School of Art in London where he was a visiting lecturer from 1964 to 1975; and at Glasgow School of Art from 1977 to 1984.

O'Connor was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy in London from 1950 to 1978. He also exhibited at the New English Art Club, Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Redfern Gallery, New Grafton Gallery and Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours in London; and at John Russell Gallery in Ipswich, Suffolk Solo exhibitions of his work were held at Zwemmer Gallery in London from 1955 to 1968. New Grafton Gallery in London in 1970 and Bourne Fine Art in Edinburgh in 2003; and retrospectives were held at the Mackintosh Museum in Glasgow, and the John Russell Gallery in Ipswich in 1999.

He was elected a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers (RE), and Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours (RWS). He was also a member of the Colchester Art Society, which he helped establish, and an Honorary member of the Society of Wood Engravers.

O'Connor both wrote and illustrated several books. In 1960 he created murals for Basildon New Town, Essex. In his latter years he produced a monthly wood engraving for the magazine 'Oldie' until 2001.

From 1940 to 1946 O'Connor served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force.

In 1975 he moved to Kirkcudbright, in Scotland and from 1977 to 1984 taught at Glasgow School of Art

He died in Dumfries, Scotland on 5 March 2004. A memorial exhibition of his work was held at The John Russell Gallery in London in 2005–06. A monograph on him, ‘A Portrait of John Scorror O'Connor: Engraver, Painter and Teacher’ by Michael Feargus O’Connor was published by Unicorn Press, Lewes, East Sussex, in 2024.

_{Text source: Art History Research net (AHR net)}

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