Rose Hilton: A Selected Retrospective
Tate St Ives, until 11 May
Rose Hilton was born Rosemary Phipps in the Kentish village of Leigh, near Tonbridge, in 1931. She grew up the dutiful daughter of parents who were strict Plymouth Brethren, but early on she showed distinct signs of artistic talent. Her parents considered that this might equip her as an art teacher, but Rose had higher ambitions: she determined to be a painter. Force of character combined with innate skills took her from Beckenham Art School to the Royal College of Art in London, where she won prizes and was praised by her tutor Carel Weight for her sense of colour. She looked all set for a successful career in art until she met that uncompromising painter Roger Hilton, 20 years her senior, a man who many thought was ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’.
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