Bridget Riley
Riley was born in London in 1931. Her father, John Fisher Riley, originally from
Yorkshire, was a printer, as his own father had been. In 1938 he relocated the printing business, together with his family, to
Lincolnshire.
During World War II Riley's father was drafted into the armed services and she was
evacuated, with her mother and sister, to a cottage in
Cornwall. The cottage, not far from the sea near
Padstow, was shared with an aunt who was a former student at
Goldsmiths College, London. Primary education came in the form of irregular talks and lectures by non-qualified or retired teachers. She was educated at
Cheltenham Ladies' College and later studied
art at Goldsmiths College (1949–52), and later at the
Royal College of Art (1952–55),
[ where her fellow students included artists
Peter Blake, Geoffrey Harcourt (the retired painter, also noted for his many well known chair designs) and
Frank Auerbach. In 1955 Riley graduated with a
BA degree.