Carel Weight was born in London. His grandfather came from Hamburg (and was, according to the artist, the first professional chiropodist ever to come to England). Weight studied at Hammersmith College of Art from 1928–30 and at Goldsmiths College from 1931–33. During the Second World War he was an Official War Artist, at the instigation of Kenneth (later Lord) Clark, a close friend with whom he frequently discussed art and history. As a War Artist, Weight visited Austria, Italy and Greece, and the Government Art Collection owns a number of works painted by him at this time. After the War, he taught at the Royal College of Art, becoming Professor of Painting in 1957. He exhibited internationally and is represented in many public collections.
A retrospective exhibition of Weight’s work was held in 1982 at the Royal Academy, followed by a smaller show there in 1988 to mark his eightieth birthday. In 1995 a retrospective exhibition of his work as an Official War Artist was held at the Imperial War Museum in London.
