Cedric Morris
Works
Exhibitions
Biography
Portrait of Lucian Freud, 1940-45
Cedric Morris (1889–1982) was a painter, plantsman, and co-founder of the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, where he influenced generations of artists including Lucian Freud and Maggi Hambling. Morris is celebrated for his vivid floral paintings and expressive landscapes, which combine botanical accuracy with a modernist sensibility. His work reflects both his love of horticulture—he cultivated hundreds of new iris varieties—and his desire to synthesise natural observation with an intuitive, painterly touch.
Morris studied in Paris and London, becoming part of a cosmopolitan artistic milieu before settling in Suffolk. His school became renowned for its free-spirited, artist-led teaching. Exhibited at the Lefevre Gallery, the Tate, and widely during his lifetime, Morris’s paintings are held in major UK collections. His legacy is dual: a visionary painter whose work radiates colour and vitality, and an influential educator who fostered creativity far beyond academic convention.
Morris studied in Paris and London, becoming part of a cosmopolitan artistic milieu before settling in Suffolk. His school became renowned for its free-spirited, artist-led teaching. Exhibited at the Lefevre Gallery, the Tate, and widely during his lifetime, Morris’s paintings are held in major UK collections. His legacy is dual: a visionary painter whose work radiates colour and vitality, and an influential educator who fostered creativity far beyond academic convention.