Alexander George Oliphant

Alexander George Oliphant (2 May 1911 – 18 November 1971) was a Scottish painter, born in Grangemouth, Scotland. He won the Guthrie Award in 1936 with his work, the oil painting David Kerr Esq. In his later life he switched to illustrating comic books, working on the Eagle comic.

Life

Alexander George Oliphant was born in 1911 in Grangemouth. His father was Bill Oliphant (5 January 1880 - 14 June 1951), his mother Ethel Maude Chipperfield (8 July 1890 - c. October 1967). Alexander was one of their two children; the other was William Oliphant (17 January 1916 - 25 October 1989).

He married Thora Clee (1911 - 21 February 1968) in April 1947. Thora was from King's Norton in Worcestershire previously married to William L. Goldsmith.

From at least 1945 he was in London staying at 30 Bedford Chambers, Piazza. In 1948 he moved to 9 Graham Terrace in Westminster, then in 1949 moved to 23 St. George's Court, Brompton Road, South Kensington. He had a studio at 4 Cavaye Studios, Cavaye Place, Kensington. He moved to 55 Crompton Court, South Kensington in 1962.

Art

Oliphant went to Glasgow School of Art when still employed in a commercial house in Glasgow. He stayed with his parents in Grangemouth and the Falkirk Herald reported that the commute to Glasgow, his studies and his work left him little time to paint. He won the Chalmers-Jervise Prize of 1934 at the Royal Scottish Academy exhibition, with an address of 27 Marshall Street in Grangemouth. The work was a Portrait Of My Grandfather and Oliphant won £6 for the prize. The subject was likely his paternal grandfather Alexander Oliphant (c.1850 - 13 February 1940) from Grangemouth, rather than his maternal grandfather George Chipperfield from London.

With a prize with his first work exhibited at the RSA, his second work exhibited at the RSA was David Kerr Esq. It was called a character study, full of humour and vitality. It won the 1936 Guthrie Award. He worked on the Eagle annual and the Daily Mirror Book for Boys.