Landscape and predominantly seascape painter in watercolour and, before 1945, oil. Born at Wakefield, Yorkshire, Pitchforth studied at Wakefield School of Art in 1912–14, Leeds College of Art 1914–15 and 1919–20, his studies being interrupted by war service. He was then at the Royal College of Art 1920–5, and also visited Paris. Pitchforth’s first one-man show was at the London Artists’ Association in 1928, and the year later he exhibited with the LG. Was an Official War Artist 1940–5. Pitchforth began exhibiting at the RA in 1941 and was elected RA in 1953, his first retrospective having been held at Wakefield 10 years earlier. From 1945 Pitchforth travelled extensively, in Ceylon, Burma and South Africa. On return from there in 1948 he took up a teaching post at Chelsea polytechnic, Camberwell, St Martin’s School of Art, Clapham and the Royal College of Art also drawing on teaching skills at various times.