Who was Sven Berlin? The controversial Cornish artist and zookeeper with an extraordinary life

In his extraordinary life, Sven Berlin was in artist, a zookeeper and a person not known for making friends.

The renowned figurative painter, sculptor, writer and poet was born in London in 1911 but made his name as part of the St Ives colony in the 1950s.

He moved to Cornwall after being discharged from the Royal Artillery on medical grounds, having suffered from nervous shock and the breakdown of his marriage. 

On recovery from his breakdown, he rented an unoccupied building called 'The Tower', turning it into a sculptor's workshop. 

But in 1950 he was evicted from 'The Tower' in order for it to be converted into a public convenience. He subsequently remarried and moved to a house at Cripplesease which was destroyed by fire in 1952.

He was also a dancer and zoo keeper during his extraordinary life.

But, just as his artistic career was beginning to flourish, he became involved in an argument over artistic styles with other notable painters and sculptors in the post-war St Ives arts scene.

As a result he left Cornwall, fleeing to the New Forest in Dorset in a horse-drawn wagon with his then-wife Juanita.

David Lay Auctions has recently held a two-day auction of the contents of Berlin's studio.

• Watch Kathy Wardle's report on the auction

Researcher Mimi Connell-Lay said: "He left in a kind of self imposed exile at a time when that whole scene, that little group of artists were really on the up, just starting to become respected and famous.

"He left and he never really received the sort of commercial success that those other artists did after that."

Despite leaving St Ives, more controversy would follow Berlin when he published his book 'The Dark Monarch' in 1962.

In it, he did not hold back in describing the squabbles of the artists community in St Ives - but the characters were too recognisable and so libel suits quickly followed.

He refused to alter the book and instead it was withdrawn and Sven Berlin and his publisher had to pay damages - leaving Berlin bankrupt.

While his work was later collected by the likes of David Bowie, Berlin never reached the same level of prominence as his contemporaries like Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth.

He died in 1999 and never lived to see his influence highlighted in the Tate St Ives' 2009 exhibition. 

The artist lived out his days in Dorset with his third wife Julia, who died recently.

The contents of his studio went up for sale, with 750 lots being sold on April 7 and 8.