Christopher Chamberlain 1918-1984

Christopher Chamberlain was a Royal Exhibitioner (scholarship student) at the Royal College before the outbreak of WWII. In 1939, Chamberlain was conscripted into the army (Royal Army Service Corps) and was part of the British Expeditionary Force to France which was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940. After demobilisation at the end of the war, Chamberlain returned to the Royal College, before  on a teaching career, notably at Camberwell School at Art, which lasted until his death in 1984.

Chamberlain married fellow artist Diana Heather Copley in 1940, and was a regular exhibitor at the RA Summer Exhibition. In David Beckman's obituary of Copley (Independent, 5th December 2001) he wrote that 'When I interviewed her several years ago, she regretted that he (Chamberlain) had not been elected a Royal Academician, having been on the nomination list for many years. Outspoken and idealistic, however, Chamberlain was not one to say the right things and keep in with people who mattered'.

Examples of Chamberlain's work are held in the collections of the Tate ('The Dangerous Corner', 1954; a view near the Artist's home of 402 Fulham Road), Royal Academy ('Liverpool: America Dock', 1957) and Swindon Art Gallery ('Vauxhall Bridge Station', 1955).