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- Christopher Ironside
- Also known as
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Christopher Ironside
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primary name: Ironside, Christopher
- Details
- individual; designer; British; Male
- Other dates
- 1913-1992
- Biography
- Painter, draughtsman, designer, designer of coins and medals, teacher; born in London in 1913, the younger brother of Robin Ironside (q.v.); studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. During WWII he served in the Directorate of Camoflague in the Air Ministry, based in Leamington Spa and afterwards worked for the Ministry of Town and Country Planning; from 1946 to 48 worked at the Council for Industrial Design; shared two exhibitions with his brother: Redfern Gallery,1944, and Arthur Jeffress, 1960. They also collaborated on designs for postage stamps and the stage, including the Covent Garden production of 'Sylvia' in 1952. He taught at Maidstone College of Art and at the Royal College of Art, 1953-63; designed decorations in the Mall for the Coronation in 1953; Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers [FSIAD], 1970; appointed OBE, 1971, for his designs for the obverse of the new UK decimal coinage; this led to commissions for new coinage for: Tanzania, Brunei, Quatar Dubai and Singapore. His first wife was Janey Ironside, Professor of Fashion at the RCA, and their daughter the journalist Virginia Ironside. He died in Winchester, Hampshire in 1992; his work is held in the British Museum, including designs for coins and medals and the 1971 decimal coinage.
- Bibliography
- Richard Guyatt: 'Christopher Ironside' Obituary Independent 15 July 1992