Sir Cedric Morris

Acquired directly from the artist in the 1960s

London, London Artist's Association, details untraced;
Ipswich, The Ixion Society, details untraced.

There is a tiny hole in the canvas near the upper edge in the upper left quadrant. There are artist's pinholes in each corner. Otherwise the canvas is in good overall condition. There are scattered areas of craquelure in all four quadrants. There are two small areas of paint loss in the centre of the canvas approximately 15cm. down from the upper egde of the canvas. There are traces of dirt across the paint surface. Examination under ultra-violet light reveals areas of fluorescence which appear to be the artist's own pigments. Held in a gilded rectilinear frame which has suffered some abrasions. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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During the first half of the 1920s, Morris and his partner Lett-Haines spent a good part of their time travelling. Based in Paris, they also visited North Africa, Germany, Italy, and Spain, usually travelling in a fairly rudimentary fashion. Indeed in 1923 they crossed the Pyrenees on foot, and on arriving in Barcelona their unkempt appearance led to them being arrested as suspected communists. Whilst such events make for wonderful stories, they do mask the fact that their subsequent exposure to European artistic circles wider than Paris was very unusual for the time amongst British painters, and indeed Morris' 1922 exhibition in Rome was his first solo show.

 

The present painting probably dates to the second half of 1923 when they spent a good deal of time in and around the Provence area, and shows how early in his career Morris had managed to establish the distinctive style and technique of his paintings.