Sargy Mann

Influential British artist who lost his sight but used his visual memory to carry on painting

For more than half his career the painter Sargy Mann endured deteriorating eyesight. From 2005 he was completely blind, but he continued to produce strong, vividly coloured work until the end of his life. He was remarkably sanguine about his fate. "All through the Eighties, I was having eye operations and each time I came out of hospital, I was seeing differently, so I had to keep rediscovering what the world looked like and how to engage with it. Actually, I liked this because the great thing for an artist is not to repeat yourself. I was always trying to use my art to see more deeply, to be more involved in the world."