Laura Gascoigne

This British surrealist is a revelation

Cedric Morris's plant and animal paintings are interesting but Arthur Lett-Haines's sculptures give Dali a run for his money

‘Summer Garden Flowers’, 1944, by Cedric Morris. Credit: Philip Mould & Company, London  
issue 10 August 2024

When the 15-year-old Maggi Hambling arrived at Benton End in Hadleigh, Suffolk – home of the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing – with two paintings to show the school’s founders, Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines, she was ushered into the dining room where Morris was having dinner. He made some criticisms but was very encouraging, then Lett-Haines came in and made the opposite criticisms but was encouraging too.

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