Don Egginton obituary | art

My father, Don Egginton, who has died aged 92, was professor of accounting at the University of Bristol and head of the university’s economics department. A distinguished teacher and respected academic, he was also an accomplished artist, creating works in various media over a period of 50 years. His portrait of the economist Alfred Marshall, after a 1908 painting by Sir William Rothstein, hangs in the university.

Don was born in the East End of London to Eileen (née Burnett) and Albert Egginton. Ellen and Al, as they were known, worked as a cook and driver for the British Army respectively. Don survived their home being bombed in the attack, and was then evacuated with his family to Norfolk, where they settled. His father returned from Dunkirk but died as a prisoner of war in Burma.

Don attended Hammond Grammar School in Swaffham, passing 11 of the newly introduced O-level examinations, before having to leave school and take a job. In 1957, after working as a banker and completing his National Service, he was accepted into the London School of Economics to study economics and accounting on the basis of his O-levels alone.

He married Angela Shiras in 1959; They separated and divorced about 30 years later. They met at the Conservative Club in Dereham although both had been lifelong Liberal Party supporters.

In 1960, Don graduated from the London School of Economics and trained as a chartered accountant before being appointed Lecturer in Accounting at the University of Bristol in 1963. He was to spend all his working life there, becoming Professor in 1986 and Head of the Department in 1990. He retired as Emeritus Professor in 1997.

Community, art, and philanthropy were essential to his life. One of the first Samaritan volunteers, Don was also an active member of the Liberal Party, which he joined in 1961, standing in the council elections as a Liberal candidate. He was instrumental in establishing the Bristol Community Garden which still operates as a designated ‘green city’, and also launched a local rewilding project, which is now protected in perpetuity.

He has created a body of artwork spanning more than half a century, in a variety of media. Don has cited Banksy and Picasso as two of his favorite artists, and his works have often surprised viewers with their eclecticism and expressive nature.

Don’s work has been exhibited at the Bath Society of Artists and the Royal West of England Academy, as well as the Clifton Arts Club, of which he was an active member. Ace Arts, in Somerton, Somerset, hosted a 2024 retrospective of his work, Believe in Me and I’ll Believe in You, named after his sculpture of a golden unicorn.

Don will be remembered above all for his kindness. He is survived by his three children, David, Elizabeth and Anna, and his grandchildren Sasha and Jack.