Editing Josh Kirby (section)

==Personal life==
He was born on 27 November 1928 at 58 Argo Road, Waterloo, Lancashire. His parents were Charles William and Ellen (née Marsh) Kirby who ran a grocery shop together, although his father was also a ship owner's freight clerk. They named him Ronald William Kirby.<ref name="Kirby">{{cite web |title=Biographical details |url=https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/exhibitions/joshkirby/biog/index.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802164701/https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/exhibitions/joshkirby/biog/index.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 August 2019 |publisher=Liverpool Museums |access-date=2 December 2019}}</ref>

Kirby dreamed of a career in art from a young age. When he was seven, he made a trade sign that said "KIRBY – ARTIST". He was also attracted to science fiction and fantasy from images seen in films and magazines.<ref name="joshkirbyart" />

At the beginning of the Second World War, his school was evacuated to [[Abercraf]] in South Wales.<ref name="Kirby" /> In 1943, he returned to Liverpool and attended the Junior then Senior Schools of the [[Liverpool College of Art|Liverpool City School of Art]] from the age of 14 until he was 20. He was trained in drawing, painting and lithography. While he was there, his [[Old Master]]-style portraits earned him the nickname "Josh" when colleagues likened his work to that of the painter Sir [[Joshua Reynolds]].<ref name="Kirby" /> The nickname stuck. He also met the model [[June Furlong]] in 1948 and they remained lifelong friends.<ref name="Kirby" />

He moved to London in 1950.<ref name="Kirby" /> In 1965, he married Dianne Kingston and moved to The Old Rectory, [[Shelfanger]], near [[Diss, Norfolk|Diss]] in Norfolk.  He lived and worked there, in a cramped studio, until his death.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Barnett |first=David |date=2024-01-20 |title=Family of Discworld illustrator seek wealthy patron to conserve legacy of 'one of the great artists of our time' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/jan/20/family-of-discworld-illustrator-josh-kirby-seek-wealthy-patron-to-conserve-legacy-of-one-of-the-great-artists-of-our-time |access-date=2024-02-03 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>

Kirby and Kingston divorced in 1982. He died of natural causes in his sleep at home in Shelfanger at the age of 72 on 23 October 2001 and was survived by his brother Len and two nephews.

In 2024, his family were looking for a philanthropist to support the conservation and exhibition of his body of work, around 400 finished paintings and several hundred sketches.<ref name=":0" />