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Michael Ayrton


Michael Ayrton, born in 1921, was an artist and writer renowned for his paintings, prints and sculptures, but also as a critic, broadcaster and novelist. His varied output of sculptures, illustrations, poems and stories reveals an obsession with flight, myths, mirrors and labyrinths, particularly the Minotaur and legendary maze-builder Daedalus.

He was also a stage and costume designer, working with painter John Minton on the 1942 John Gielgud production of Macbeth at the age of 19, and a book designer and illustrator for Wyndham Lewis's The Human Age trilogy. Collaborations with Constant Lambert and William Golding followed in a rich and diverse creative career.

Ayrton’s work is in several important collections including the Tate Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, MOMA, New York, and Fry Art Gallery, Essex. Ayrton passed away in 1975 at the age of 54.
 Anthropomorphised Elephant
Pencil on paper
21.3 x 16.5cm
