Bird

1948–1954

Trustee of the Tate Gallery

Serves as a trustee of the Tate Gallery in London from 1948 to 1954; other accounts say he became a member of its board in 1949.

1952

Exhibition in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Exhibits in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale alongside Edward Wadsworth and the New Aspects of British Sculpture Group.

early 1954

Commissioned to design a tapestry for Coventry Cathedral

He is commissioned to design a monumental tapestry, “Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph”, for the new Coventry Cathedral; the work takes three years, and to complete it he visits the weavers, Pinton Frères of Felletin in France, on nine occasions. Other accounts date the work on the tapestry to 1952–1961.

1955

Buys a villa in Menton

He and his wife buy the villa Tempe à Pailla at Menton, near the French-Italian border, designed by the Irish architect Eileen Gray; other accounts call his Menton house Ville Blanche. In the 1950s and 1960s he spends the winters in England and the rest of the year in Menton.

16 Temmuz 1955 – 18 Eylül 1955

Exhibition: documenta