Anthony Benjamin

Anthony Benjamin (29 March 1931 – 17 February 2002) was an English artist referred to as a 'polymathic artist' by critic, Rosemary Simmons when writing about his work in The Times in 1979.

Born in Boarhunt, Hampshire he endured a difficult childhood, due to an unstable family life and being a wartime London evacuee. He claimed to have attended at least 12 different schools, learning little except self-defence in the many playgrounds he had to cross. He did not lose his interest in fighting and he took up boxing, eventually becoming a professional fairground fighter.

Leaving school in 1947 he took up an apprenticeship as an Engineering Draughtsman at the firm of Bell Punch, in Hayes, Middlesex. Anthony had an aptitude for careful drawing, as well as an appreciation and understanding of the logical principals of three-dimensional construction, but the lack of creative possibilities frustrated him. He dropped out of the apprenticeship in 1949 and was accepted on the sculpture program at the Regent Street Polytechnic. Unhappy with the academic restrictions prevailing in the department at the time and going against convention, he applied colour to a carving he was working on. When told to remove the paint or face expulsion from the department, he decided to leave, but he retained his deep interest in sculpture.