Paul simplified his real name just a little: he was born as Arthur Paul Hoggarth. He won a scholarship to Manchester College of Art in 1933, but his father called it ‘that bloody art school’. This ‘original angry young man’ went to Spain to join the Republicans in the civil war, but was sent home when they discovered that he was only 17. Back home he resumed his studies at St Martin’s College of Art in London. Being a member of the Communist Party, he was not allowed to join the forces in WW2, but worked instead at the Ministry of Propaganda. After the war he went to eastern Europe. Working at the Central School of Art he challenged his principal to send him to China. It was the end of his job at the school, but he went anyway, as the first British artist to set foot in China (1953). He was an illustrator and graphic designer for Shell and an art director for various magazines. He produced magnificent illustrations for the work of Graham Greene, Jane Eyre, and London à la Mode.