Kenneth Lawson

Kenneth Lawson, the celebrated artist and set designer who has just died aged 87, escaped death in his early life after his London home was struck by a bomb. Mr Lawson was then a young man of 25 but went on to be a designer for the BBC, with the set of Top of the Pops among his credits. Born in 1920, Mr Lawson began painting seriously aged 16 and was part of a group of artists influenced by Impressionism in 1940s Camden Town. By 1942 he was becoming well-known and was part of exhibition in Burlington House by the London Group. In 1951, Mr Lawson assisted the celebrated artist Graham Sutherland in producing a huge painting for the Festival of Britain on London's South Bank in 1951. The result - Origins of the Land - measured 14ft x 11ft and is still on display at the Tate Gallery. The two artists worked together again in 1952 and 1953, on drawings for the world's biggest tapestry for Coventry Cathedral. Mr Lawson moved to the north west after joining the BBC in 1956. His creative flair saw him promoted to `designer in charge' with the BBC Television Service Production Unit. He was responsible for the sets for such shows as Top of the Pops, The Good Old Days, and the Ken Dodd variety shows. In all he designed for more than 1,500 well-known TV productions and continued to work on a freelance basis until he was 70. Mr Lawson, who lived in Didsbury, was also acclaimed for his work as a scenic artist and designer for a number of theatres including the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Mr Lawson, who had been suffering from cancer, died at his home in Didsbury on May 23. He is survived by two children – Roger and Cassandra – and his wife Joan, from whom he was separated but never divorced.