David Kentish
Encyclopedia
David Kentish was a British artist and actor producer.
and trained as an artist under Sir Cedric Morris
and Arthur Lett-Haines
at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing
, together with Lucian Freud
and Bettina Shaw-Lawrence
.
David was the younger brother of the operatic tenor John Kentish
. Another of his siblings was actress Elizabeth Kentish.
In 1939, Kentish spent the first winter of the 2nd World War in Capel Curig
, Wales
, with Lucian Freud
and the poet Stephen Spender
, where they rented lodgings in a retired miner’s cottage. Kentish was recovering from TB, contracted at school, and Spender was in the immediate aftermath of his marriage break-up.
They spent their days painting and the evenings drawing by lamplight, whilst Spender worked on his novel The Backward Son. The winter was hard and there was little to do except work, read, talk and listen to the recordings of Wagner that Kentish had brought. Freud’s portrait of David Kentish, his rugger-playing school friend from Bryanston public school, along with the sketches he made at this time, was exhibited at the Matthew Marks Gallery, New York and Timothy Taylor Gallery, London in 2003.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s he worked for Associated-Rediffusion
producing documentaries such as Out of Step
with Daniel Farson
.
Early life and training
David Kentish was educated at Bryanston SchoolBryanston School
Bryanston School is a co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Blandford, north Dorset, England, near the village of Bryanston. It was founded in 1928...
and trained as an artist under Sir Cedric Morris
Cedric Morris
Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet was a British artist, art teacher and plantsman. He was born in Swansea but worked mainly in East Anglia...
and Arthur Lett-Haines
Arthur Lett-Haines
Arthur Lett-Haines , known as Lett Haines, was a British painter and sculptor who experimented in many different media, though he generally characterised himself as "an Engish surrealist". He was part of a London artistic circle, which included D. H...
at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing
East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing
The East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing was an art learning environment established by Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines in East Anglia in 1937. It was run on very idiosyncratic lines based upon the "free rein" approach that was then current in French academies...
, together with Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
and Bettina Shaw-Lawrence
Bettina Shaw-Lawrence
Bettina Shaw-Lawrence also known as Betty Shaw-Lawrence, is an English 20th century figurative artist born in 1921. Though she studied painting and drawing under Fernand Léger, Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines, was mainly self-taught...
.
David was the younger brother of the operatic tenor John Kentish
John Kentish
John William Kentish was an English operatic tenor born in Blackheath, Kent on 21 January 1910 and died in Chipping Norton, oxfordshire on 26 October 2006. Elder brother of the painter David Kentish-External links:*...
. Another of his siblings was actress Elizabeth Kentish.
In 1939, Kentish spent the first winter of the 2nd World War in Capel Curig
Capel Curig
Capel Curig is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It lies in the heart of Snowdonia, on the River Llugwy, and has a population of 226...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, with Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
and the poet Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender
Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
, where they rented lodgings in a retired miner’s cottage. Kentish was recovering from TB, contracted at school, and Spender was in the immediate aftermath of his marriage break-up.
They spent their days painting and the evenings drawing by lamplight, whilst Spender worked on his novel The Backward Son. The winter was hard and there was little to do except work, read, talk and listen to the recordings of Wagner that Kentish had brought. Freud’s portrait of David Kentish, his rugger-playing school friend from Bryanston public school, along with the sketches he made at this time, was exhibited at the Matthew Marks Gallery, New York and Timothy Taylor Gallery, London in 2003.
Later work
Kentish was also an actor, and acting and stage management gradually took over his life. In New York on Broadway, he acted in King Henry IV Part 1 & Part II and Oedipus Rex (1946) and was the production stage manager for Lawrence Olivier on Anthony and Cleopatra (1951) and Venus Observed (1952).In the late 1950s and early 1960s he worked for Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
producing documentaries such as Out of Step
Out of Step (TV series)
Out of Step is a documentary series made by Associated-Rediffusion in 1957, in which presenter Daniel Farson looks for unconventional opinions' - surrounding a particular topical issue. Episodes lasted approximately 16 minutes, and the show was placed at 10.30pm in ITV's Wednesday schedule.When the...
with Daniel Farson
Daniel Farson
Daniel Negley Farson a British writer and broadcaster, was a popular television personality and prominent public figure in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Early life:...
.