Steve Chaplin (born 1934): Orpington artist
Stephen Chaplin’s art exhibitions were one of the best treats when Bromley Museum was located at the Priory in Church Hill, Orpington up till 2015. There were at least two displays of his striking artwork depicting many different scenes of the Orpington town and surroundings. Born in 1934, Stephen grew up in Orpington as a child and after progressing through art school at the Slade and at Courtauld his paintings included remembered scenes from his wartime childhood in our town.
Stephen Chaplin’s art exhibitions were one of the best treats when Bromley Museum was located at the Priory in Church Hill, Orpington up till 2015. There were at least two displays of his striking artwork depicting many different scenes of the Orpington town and surroundings. Born in 1934, Stephen grew up in Orpington as a child and after progressing through art school at the Slade and at Courtauld his paintings included remembered scenes from his wartime childhood in our town.
What must morale must have been like in 1941 after the mass bombing that was inflicted on our town? On the staircase of the Priory one of the museum exhibits was a giant map with a black dot marking every single explosive device that fell in our locality. Stephen's recollections included a warden on his rounds with an air raid shelter in the background; another of his paintings recalled the girl next door on her swing while a warplane passed overhead. In another of his drawings Stephen captured a memory of his parents’ front parlour on Christmas Day 1941 with the wireless on to hear Winston Churchill’s speech.
We are very fortunate that we can see many of Stephen’s superb illustrations on the internet today. If you Google his name you’ll find his page with more than a hundred of his colour drawings on the Art UK website.
Part of the above text is taken from our Cray 150 book Curiosities of Orpington published in 2023. Copies are on sale (Price £2.95) at the Croft Tea Room, 263 High Street St Mary Cray or e-mail [email protected]
We are very fortunate that we can see many of Stephen’s superb illustrations on the internet today. If you Google his name you’ll find his page with more than a hundred of his colour drawings on the Art UK website.
Part of the above text is taken from our Cray 150 book Curiosities of Orpington published in 2023. Copies are on sale (Price £2.95) at the Croft Tea Room, 263 High Street St Mary Cray or e-mail [email protected]