History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

Leonard Rosoman was born at 15 Dene Mansions, Dennington Park Road in West Hampstead on 27 October 1913. His parents were Henry Griffith Rosman a removal contactor and job master, and Lilian Blanche Spencer the daughter of a tailor. They soon separated and following their divorce, both remarried. From the age of five Leonard lived with his Spencer uncles and aunts at No.2 Priory Road. His father’s sister Bessie Bryne was a commercial artist who encouraged Leonard’s interest in drawing and took him to the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition and other galleries. Leonard went to Kingsgate infant school Kilburn, and then to Deacon’s School in Peterborough where he lived with his mother and an unsympathetic stepfather.   Leonard Rosoman, by Baron 1955 (NPG) Leonard began training as an artist in Newcastle, then at the Royal Academy Schools and two years at the Central School of Arts and Crafts (1936-37). Influenced by Paul Gauguin and Paul Nash, his work began to be recogniz...