He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) before being award Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in 1992 and was awarded the Companion of Honour in the 2003 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Art.
As of May 2009 he was living in Westminster, London, England.
During WWII he was evacuated with his mother and sister to the US. He first decided he wanted to be an artist when he was five and was inspired by seeing works by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art. He eventually attended the Camberwell School of Art and Bath Academy of Art, where he later taught.
He was an abstract painter. His works are found in major galleries and museums around the world, including the British Museum, Tate, and MoMA. He was inspired by the colors of India, which he visited several times.