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Painter, draughtsman and writer, full name John Michael Wishart, who was married for a time to the artist Anne Dunn, their son being the artist Francis Wishart. Michael’s father was the wealthy Ernest Wishart, founder of the Communist publishing houses Wishart & Company and Lawrence & Wishart, Michael’s mother Lorna being one of the Garman sisters. Kathleen Garman became the model, mistress and wife of the sculptor Jacob Epstein, Mary marrying the South African poet Roy Campbell. Lorna was the lover of poet Laurie Lee – their daughter Yasmin was brought up by the Wisharts – then of the painter Lucian Freud, who painted several notable early portraits of her; both Lee and Freud eventually married Lorna’s nieces. Michael studied at Bedales School, then the Central School of Arts and Crafts, under Bernard Meninsky; Anglo-French School where teachers included André Lhote; Cedric Morris’ East Anglian School of Painting; and in Paris at Académie Julian.

Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)


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