Biography for John Piper

Education

He was an articled clerk between 1921 - 6 before studying at the Richmond School of Art in 1926 and at the Royal Academy of Art in 1927 - 9.

Member

He was a member of the Seven and Five Society. He was also a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission in 1960 - 77.

Awards

He was a trustee of the Tate for the periods 1946 - 61 and 1968 - 74. He was awarded the Companion of Honour in 1972.

Employment

He wrote criticism for the New Statesman and The Listener from 1933. He also worked on the Recording Britain scheme where he painted scenes of war damaged churches for the War Artists' Advisory Committee. He became an official war artist in 1944. He worked on a lot of commissions including to the Queen; designing stained glass for Coventry Cathedral (1957 - 61) and the Liverpool Metropolitan Catherdral (1963 - 67). He designed stage sets for some of Benjamin Britten's operas.