Art
New Paintings by Cedric Morris
THERE can be few criticisms so irritating to a thdroughly competent painter than the suggestion that he is a one- track artist. Mr. Cedric Morris is a case in point. He is a painter of more than usual ability to which is added a particular personal enthusiasm for certain aspects of Nature. He is an amateur ornithologist of unusual ability and experi- ence and a singularly well-informed practical horticulturist. His attitude towards these personal interests—birds and flowers—is that of the true country-bred. He regards them individually as living creatures, curiously diverse in growth and shape and colour. It is this point of view which leads him to choose these subjects as an artist, neither senti- mentalizing over them, nor surrounding them with the arid precision of the meticulous field naturalist. The result his been that he is associated with his particular interests to such a degree that he has come to be regarded popularly
as purely a bird and flower painter. . .
His present exhibition at the Leicester Galleries should be instrumental in dissipating this impression, for while the bird and flower paintings are well represented, they are outnumbered by landscapes and portraitS.. Mr. Cedric Morris is primarily a painter, and by that I imply that his chief preoccupation is to create a picture—to utilize .a certain limited space for the proper relation of certain forms and colours. Here the artist who is not tied down by a conscious or unconscious necessity of painting entirely representatively scores a distinct triumph. Mr. Morris is concentrating on making a good picture. That is his primary and ultimate
aim. . ,
The best paintings in the exhibition are Zenner ; ,Cornwall Cherry Trees ; Porthmeon: Cornwall ; Boswednack: Cornwall and Gurnard's Head : Cornwall. Mr. Cedric Morrii in these five pictures completely demolishes the suggestion, which I have referred to, that he is a painter only of flowers and birds. One of the largest flower pieces—June Flowering Irises—is a dazzling experiment in colour which to do itself justice should be seen apart from the other canvasses. I recommend also Missel Thrush and Redwing, Hedgerow in March, Stratford St. Mary, Suffolk, and the three flower pieces called Paysage du Jardin (1), (2) and (3). Two other flower paintings call for attention, Parade and Heyday. It is now, I think, about two years since Mr. Cedric Morris held his last public exhibition, and it would not be amiss to discuss his position. He is, it should not be forgotten, a draughtsman of unusual merit, though unfortunately his drawings are not often seen. Those who are unconvinced— and there may he such, for in his oil painting he concentrates more on the values of colour, tone and texture of pigments— should look at his illustrations in that admirable book, Herbs, Salads and Seasonings, by X. M. Boulestin and Jason Hill. These drawings are a complete answer to the sug- gestion that he is not a good draughtsman. His work is extremely individual, and he is dot influenced by the corporate enthusiasms of any group. Since 1924 he has earned a steadily increasing reputation, and if, not infrequently, there are blemishes in some of his best work, these are counter- balanced by the first-rate qualities which characterizes a good Cedric Morris; He has still the interest to experiment, and I would not be surprised, judging from the quality of some of the portraits in 'the present exhibition, if the next few years were not to see him come out as a portreit.painter
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