A never-before-seen work by celebrated artist and plantsman, Cedric Morris, will go under the hammer at The Art & Design Sale on 27th February.
The surrealist landscape, with a view of a Welsh cottage painted on the reverse which is believed to have been completed by Morris in the 1930s, was gifted by the artist to Bettina Shaw-Lawrence, one of his students as part of the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing. It carries an estimate of £30,000 - £50,000.
Surrealist landscape by Cedric Morris
Consigned to Cheffins by the Shaw-Lawrence family, this is the first time the painting has come available on the open market and represents a period in Cedric Morris’s career during which he produced some of his most refined still life works.
Brett Tryner, Director, Cheffins comments: ‘Cedric Morris is arguably one of the most sought-after artists in the post-modern market. With his creation of the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing alongside his partner Arthur Lett-Haines, Morris would directly influence the works of some of the UK’s most famous artists, including Lucian Freud, Maggi Hambling and Prunella Clough. There has been a tidal wave of interest in Cedric Morris in recent years and his impact on both art and gardening. His and Lett-Haines’ establishment of the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, otherwise known as the Benton End Group, became a sanctuary for like-minded artists, poets, gardeners and writers – a coterie, which much like the Bloomsbury Group, now carries a romantic and almost mythical association for many fans of early 20th century British art. Works by Morris have increased in value by at least ten fold in the past decade, thanks to a flurry of interest in his life and career which was kicked off by the sale of three of his paintings as part of David Bowie’s estate in 2016. This was backed up exhibitions by Philip Mould, the Firstsite Gallery, Benton End House and Gardens and now a current running show of his and Lett Haines’ work at Charleston House in Suffolk.’
Reverse of landscape, by Cedric Morris
Brett Tryner continues that the provenance of the work also adds to its value, ‘Bettina Shaw-Lawrence was a well-regarded artist in her own right, having initially attended art classes by the painter Fernand Léger in 1938 before returning to London at the outbreak of World War Two and beginning an on-off relationship with Lucian Freud. She was a part of the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing from 1940 and studied under Morris and Lett-Haines. This painting was gifted to her by Morris at some point during her time at the school and has been held by the family ever since. This is the first time that it will be offered on the open market, and we expect it to generate some significant interest among fans of Cedric Morris and the Benton End Group as a whole.’
The consignment of this painting follows Cheffins’ successful sale of another work by Cedric Morris which had been gifted to fellow artist Lucy Harwood, which achieved £44,000 when it was sold in 2022.
To view the painting in the catalogue, please click here