Collection: Mark Peppé

Mark Peppé Born 1934

Mark Peppé spent his childhood in India on his family estates on the Nepalese border. In 1942 when he was 8 years old he returned by sea to England with his mother and twin brother Rodney, braving U-boats to attend St Edward’s school in Oxford.

In 1951 both Mark and Rodney attended Eastbound Art School which would lead to a place at The Slade where he studied painting and etching. In those days National Service was still mandatory and Mark did his training at Eaton Hall, he was in the same platoon as Lord Lucan.

In 1957, the same year that Mark started at The Slade, he successfully submitted a painting to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

In 1958 he married Polish born Tereska Lieiwicz who had also been dodging U-boats and winging her way to the UK in 1942 having been interned in a Russian Forced Labour Camp with her mother.

In 1960 Mark left The Slade to work for Cosmopolitan Artists in the Kings Road, Chelsea drawing visuals for photo stories and where he worked for Enzo Plazzotta who later become known for his sculptures of Ballet dancers.

From 1961 Mark set himself up as a freelance illustrator and continued to do so up until he retired in November 1999 after his 1208th job.

Over the years Mark has always painted, in 1967 he exhibited a family portrait at the Royal Academy. He still paints every day and recently celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary, a marriage which has seen 4 children and 8 grandchildren. He has contributed to the Art on a Postcard Secret Auction since it started in 2014