In the 1980s Tim Hilton was a memorable visiting tutor when I was a mature student of fine art at Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University). A tweed jacket that had seen better days made us wonder initially whether a rather eccentric character had just come off the street to look at the beautiful Arts and Crafts building.
There were no art history lectures – he was more of a wandering minstrel in the studios, interested in each individual’s work and putting it into context, historical and contemporary. The knowledge and criticism that he imparted in conversation with humour were lost on no one.
