This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/sep/24/alfred-rozelaar-green-obituary

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Alfred Rozelaar Green Alfred Rozelaar Green obituary
(12 days later)
My friend the painter Alfred Rozelaar Green, who has died aged 95, was the founder of the Anglo-French Art Centre in London and a distinguished survivor from the 1930s Parisian art world. His work ranged from luminous colourscapes of France, Morocco and India to sensuous charcoal nudes. All were characterised by a wholehearted zest for life.My friend the painter Alfred Rozelaar Green, who has died aged 95, was the founder of the Anglo-French Art Centre in London and a distinguished survivor from the 1930s Parisian art world. His work ranged from luminous colourscapes of France, Morocco and India to sensuous charcoal nudes. All were characterised by a wholehearted zest for life.
Alf was born in London and arrived in Paris in 1938 as a young art student. There he met the leading Modernists, danced to jazz at the Bal Nègre, and married Nita Bassetti, a model who had sat for Matisse. When the second world war broke out, he was painting in Provence – and as an British Jew feared for his safety. He and his wife escaped by night to Switzerland, swimming with their baby across a river. Together, they had three sons.Alf was born in London and arrived in Paris in 1938 as a young art student. There he met the leading Modernists, danced to jazz at the Bal Nègre, and married Nita Bassetti, a model who had sat for Matisse. When the second world war broke out, he was painting in Provence – and as an British Jew feared for his safety. He and his wife escaped by night to Switzerland, swimming with their baby across a river. Together, they had three sons.
In 1945 Alf used an inheritance to set up the Anglo-French Art Centre, a visionary art school that brought cutting-edge French painters and sculptors to London to teach. In the bleak post-blitz city, it revived the optimism and internationalism of prewar Modernism and kept the avant garde alive. Lecturers included Germaine Richier, Jean Lurçat and André Lhote from France, and new British talents such as Henry Moore, Francis Bacon and Graham Sutherland.In 1945 Alf used an inheritance to set up the Anglo-French Art Centre, a visionary art school that brought cutting-edge French painters and sculptors to London to teach. In the bleak post-blitz city, it revived the optimism and internationalism of prewar Modernism and kept the avant garde alive. Lecturers included Germaine Richier, Jean Lurçat and André Lhote from France, and new British talents such as Henry Moore, Francis Bacon and Graham Sutherland.
There were avant-garde plays staged at the centre too, including one by Gertrude Stein at which Alf met his second wife, Betty Marcus, who was the costumier. Another couple who met there were my parents, Stafford and Anna-Lisa Lorie, students who then moved to Paris to become painters. The centre's achievements were celebrated in an exhibition at the Boundary Gallery in London in 2010.There were avant-garde plays staged at the centre too, including one by Gertrude Stein at which Alf met his second wife, Betty Marcus, who was the costumier. Another couple who met there were my parents, Stafford and Anna-Lisa Lorie, students who then moved to Paris to become painters. The centre's achievements were celebrated in an exhibition at the Boundary Gallery in London in 2010.
The centre closed in 1951 due to a lack of funds. Alf had drained his inheritance and the Arts Council had withdrawn its grant. The place had been ahead of its time. Alf returned to Paris, where he and Betty lived on a sailing barge moored by the Pont Alexandre III. One night, sailing across the North Sea, it sprang a leak and sank. They were rescued, but lost the art collection on board: paintings, sculptures, bronzes, lithographs of all the artists who had exhibited at the centre, as well as a hundred of Alf's own works, ready for his first exhibition in France.The centre closed in 1951 due to a lack of funds. Alf had drained his inheritance and the Arts Council had withdrawn its grant. The place had been ahead of its time. Alf returned to Paris, where he and Betty lived on a sailing barge moored by the Pont Alexandre III. One night, sailing across the North Sea, it sprang a leak and sank. They were rescued, but lost the art collection on board: paintings, sculptures, bronzes, lithographs of all the artists who had exhibited at the centre, as well as a hundred of Alf's own works, ready for his first exhibition in France.
Undaunted, they rebuilt a medieval farmhouse in the Luberon in 1955 and rented Moïse Kisling's old studio in Paris, while Alf's reputation steadily grew. Always ahead of the curve, in 1976 they renovated a derelict engineering workshop in the shabby quarter of Ménilmontant, which today is Paris's equivalent of Hoxton. Generations of admirers and friends visited this inspiring home, with its courtyard covered in vines and its atelier cluttered with a lifetime's paintings. It was a place where you could see and believe in the power of art and of artists.Undaunted, they rebuilt a medieval farmhouse in the Luberon in 1955 and rented Moïse Kisling's old studio in Paris, while Alf's reputation steadily grew. Always ahead of the curve, in 1976 they renovated a derelict engineering workshop in the shabby quarter of Ménilmontant, which today is Paris's equivalent of Hoxton. Generations of admirers and friends visited this inspiring home, with its courtyard covered in vines and its atelier cluttered with a lifetime's paintings. It was a place where you could see and believe in the power of art and of artists.
Alf is survived by Betty, his son Francis and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sons Phillip and Alan.Alf is survived by Betty, his son Francis and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sons Phillip and Alan.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.