Sven Berlin (1911-1999), dancer, painter, writer, sculptor, charismatic figure from the St Ives school and disowned by them following the publication of his fictionalised "autosvenography", "The Dark Monarch", which discussed the artistic clash of egos of his peers and led to its being withdrawn from publication.

In 1953, with his first wife Juanita and their son Jasper, he set out in a Gypsy caravan for the New Forest, where they camped and lived amongst the Gypsy community of Shave Green. During this time he recorded in drawings and paintings the last days of this community and wrote extensively about the experience in his book "Dromengro, Man of the Road.".

Berlin and his third wife, Julia, moved to the Isle of Wight in 1970, finally settling near Wimborne, Dorset, in 1975 where he continued working until his death, aged 88.