[1] After undertaking national service as an RAF pilot between 1956 and 1958, he began studying painting at St Martin's School of Art, London.
However, Annesley soon transferred to the sculpture department, finding the teaching more captivating, studying under abstract sculptor Sir Anthony Caro until 1962.
[2] Annesley experienced early success when his sculptures were chosen for the Young Contemporaries exhibitions in 1961 and 1962,[3] while he also won acclaim for his artwork at The New Generation: 1965 show at the Whitechapel Gallery, London.
Noland helped Annesley bridge the traditionally separate mediums of sculpture and painting by encouraging the use of colour in his work.
[9] Alongside Annesley's dynamic compositions, this helped him project a sense of weightlessness and movement that was at odds with the heavy steel construction of his work.