Painter, draughtsman and teacher, born in Tehran, Persia (his second name is an abbreviation of the full Persian version). He described himself as “wilfully independent”, and was a serious artist who tackled a wide range of subjects without regard to fashion. Dai was brought to England aged six and was largely abandoned by his parents, being sent to boarding schools and uncongenial foster parents. He described his secondary school as “a hermetically sealed society based on physical and psychological violence.” Dai studied at Bournemouth School of Art and Design, graduating to the Royal Academy Schools where his teachers included Peter Greenham, Norman Blamey, Roderic Barrett, Lawrence Gowing, Victor Pasmore, William Scott and Leonard Rosoman.