Background
Denning was born in Moseley, Birmingham, studying painting and graphics at the Birmingham School of Art from 1938 to 1942 and teaching there (from 1971 the Faculty of Art of Birmingham Polytechnic) between 1945 and 1985.
Denning was born in Moseley, Birmingham, studying painting and graphics at the Birmingham School of Art from 1938 to 1942 and teaching there (from 1971 the Faculty of Art of Birmingham Polytechnic) between 1945 and 1985.
In 1947 he was one of the founders of the Birmingham Artists Committee and in 1961 he organised the Four Letter Art exhibition at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, having been elected a member the year before. Although there was no organisational link, Denning"s work exhibiting contemporary art in the city was acknowledged as an influence by the artists who founded the Ikon Gallery in 1964, and he held a solo exhibition at the gallery two years later. Denning was also a published expert on Spanish playing cards.
