Leslie Marr (1922-2021)

Leslie Marr (1922-2021)

Still Life

Oil on canvas, signed and dated

Provenance: The artists studio.

Born into a wealthy family Leslie Marr inherited the title 2^nd Baronet of Sunderland in 1932 at the age of 10, though preferred not to use his title.

After studying engineering at Cambridge, he joined the Army in 1942 and whilst posted in Palestine he developed an interest in painting.

After the war he enrolled at The Hatherley’s Art School in Pimlico and subsequently studied under Bomberg at The Borough Polytechnic, it was here initially along with colleagues, Auerbach and Kossoff that he came under the influence of Bomberg’s teaching. Other students included Dennis Creffield, Cliff Holden, Dorothy Mead, Edna Mann, Miles Richmond and Lilian Holt who between them formed the Borough Group.

Marr supported the group by providing exhibition space over a bookshop that he owned and married Bomberg’s stepdaughter, Dinora Mendelson daughter of Bomberg’s wife Lilian Holt.

After the Borough Group disbanded Marr continued to travel and paint, during the mid-1950’s he took up Formula 1 racing and took part in two Grand Prix World Championships with his own car.

In the 1980’s he moved to Arran where he painted mostly landscapes and lastly to Norfolk where he continued to paint until his death in 2021.

His work over six decades was for the most landscapes and still lives, all with a consistency of style which owed a great debt to Bomberg.