EDWARD SEAGO

EDWARD SEAGO 2014 PORTLAND GALLERY

PORTLAND GALLERY

EDWARD SEAGO

EDWARD SEAGO 1 1 J U NE - 9 J U LY 2 0 1 4

Monday – Friday 10 am – 6 pm and by appointment

P ORT LAN D GA L L E RY 8 BENNET STREET T E L E P H O N E 020 7493 1888

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LONDON SW1A 1RP

EMAIL sidonie@portlandgallery.com

www.portlandgallery.com Front cover: The Furrow

Oil on board

22 x 36 ins

Catalogue no.16

EDWARD SEAGO

When I was approached by the Portland Gallery to write a book about Edward Seago I had little idea of the adventure ahead. Having lived in Norwich for several years I was familiar with his East Anglian landscape paintings, which I associated with those of his predecessors John Sell Cotman and John Crome, but beyond that I was aware only that he had enjoyed a long friendship with HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. So not entirely a blank canvas, but close to it.

Over the following two years a portrait of Seago – Ted, as he was always known by friends – gradually took shape, and I realised that this was no ordinary artist. His education, for a start, was far from conventional, since he was confined to bed for much of his childhood by a chronic heart condition. Yet he was impetuous and determined and, having made up his mind at an early age that he could only be an artist, he asked Bertram Priestman RA for technical help and sought patronage from Lady Evelyn Jones, daughter of the 4th Earl Grey.

1. Sunlight After Storm, Windsor Signed (lower left) Oil on canvas 26 x 36 ins Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London, circa 1955 Private Collection

Exhibited:

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Edward Seago Memorial Exhibition, 4 December - 3 January 1975, cat.no.6

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.89, illustrated, p.84

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With their support the nineteen year-old Seago held his first solo exhibition in London and was an overnight success, although these early paintings of horses and their riders owed rather too much to Alfred Munnings.

This didn’t prevent him seeking advice from the great man, who suggested he apply to the RA schools. Instead, after only a term at Norwich School of Art, Seago went off to join a circus as a sort of artist in residence, and for the next three years travelled constantly.

As well as producing a remarkable body of paintings and drawings, Seago found inspiration for a lively autobiographical book, ‘Circus Company’, which he wrote with the help of poet laureate John Masefield. The pair went on to collaborate on several titles, including ‘The Country Scene’ – a sumptuous quarto volume filled with Masefield’s poetry and Seago’s evocative paintings – and ‘Tribute to Ballet’, at which point war intervened.

When Seago was commissioned to the Royal Engineers in the autumn of 1939 he took the opportunity provided by his first full time job to take stock of his career, which had so far perhaps given him more success than fulfilment.

His first childhood sketches had been of the everchanging sky, and he now perceived that his true vocation lay here, in the study of light and atmosphere.

There would be notable achievements in portraiture, particularly two paintings of Queen Elizabeth II on horseback, but Seago otherwise devoted the second half of his life to landscape painting.

His vision was wide-ranging. Factories and building sites interested him as much as Norfolk beaches; he was inspired equally by sparkling Venetian canals and the dirty skies of a London winter. A great admirer of John Constable’s oil sketches, he painted rapidly, with expressive brushwork that he rarely attempted to conceal, and in later life worked from memory. Having trained his mind to recall the significant details of any scene, he astounded house guests with his ability to paint faraway places in his Norfolk studio. As evidenced by this exhibition he was, as HRH the Duke of Edinburgh put it, like a conjuror pulling rabbits out of a hat. And, yes, his best work has a touch of magic.

James Russell, April 2014

James Russell is an independent author, lecturer and curator who specialises in 20th Century British art and design. Having written acclaimed books on Nash and Ravilious for The Mainstone Press, he has written a biography of Edward Seago which will be co-published

by Lund Humphries and Portland Gallery in June 2014.

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EARLY WORKS

2. After The Ploughing Match Signed and dated ‘36’ (lower right) Oil on canvas 16 x 20 ins Provenance:

Private Collection

Literature:

John Masefield, The Country Scene, Collins, London, 1937, illustrated, p.83 James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.30, illustrated, p.35

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3. The Tight Roper Walker Signed and dated ‘32’ (lower right) Oil on canvas 18 x 24 ins Provenance:

Private Collection

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.31, illustrated, p.36

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4. Bombed Houses, Yarmouth

5. Route 65 Out Of Florence

Oil on canvas board 12 x 16 ins

Signed (lower right) Pen and ink 12 x 16 ins Executed in 1944

Provenance:

Thomas Gibson Fine Art Ltd., London The Fine Art Society, London, where purchased by the present owner, September 1999

Exhibited:

London, The Fine Art Society, Edward Seago's War Paintings, September 1999, cat.no. 2

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.42, illustrated, p.46

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Provenance:

Private Collection

Literature:

Edward Seago, With The Allied Armies In Italy, Collins, London, 1945, illustrated, plate 45 James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.48, illustrated, p.54

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EAST ANGLIA

6. Landscape With A Locomotive Signed (lower left) Oil on panel 8½ x 10½ ins Provenance:

Gifted by the artist to the father of the previous owner

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.56, illustrated, p.60

7. Wolferton Church, Norfolk Signed with initials (lower left) Oil on panel 8½ x 10½ ins Provenance:

Gifted by the artist to the father of the previous owner

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.57, illustrated, p.60

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9. Carting The Marsh Hay

8. A Norfolk Landscape Signed with initial (lower left) Oil on board 8 x 10 ins Provenance:

10

Gifted by the artist to Miss Jean Carr Abbott and Holder, London, where purchased by the present owner

Signed (lower left) Oil on canvas 26 x 36 ins Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London, where purchased by the grandmother of the previous owner circa 1960

Literature:

Jean Goodman, Edward Seago, The Other Side of the Canvas, Collins, London 1978, p.200 James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.105, illustrated, p.99

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10. A Suffolk Fishing Village Signed (lower left) Watercolour 14½ x 22 ins Exhibited:

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Edward Seago, Paintings and Watercolours, April - May 1978, cat.no.36

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.114, illustrated, p.107

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11. Suffolk Village Bears estate stamp (lower left) Oil on board 14 x 20 ins Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.78, illustrated, p.74

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12. Beach Huts, Norfolk Signed (lower left) Oil on board 14 x 20 ins Provenance:

Marlborough Fine Art, London

Exhibited:

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Edward Seago, English Landscapes, Recent Oil Paintings, November - December 1968, cat.no.34

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13. Brancaster Signed (lower left) Oil on canvas 20 x 26 ins Provenance:

Private Collection

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15. Thames Barges Racing On The Orwell 14. Thames Barge Off Landguard Point Signed (lower left) Oil on board 16 x 24 ins Provenance:

16

Stacy Marks, Eastbourne

Signed (lower left) Oil on board 16 x 24 ins Provenance:

Marlborough Fine Art, London, where purchased by the present owner's family in 1969 Thence by descent

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16. The Furrow Signed (lower left) Oil on board 22 x 36 ins Provenance:

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P & D Colnaghi, London Private Collection

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17. Approaching Storm, Suffolk

18. The Gleam

Signed (lower left) Oil on board 16 x 24 ins

Signed (lower left) Oil on canvas 26 x 36 ins

Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London, where purchased by the previous owner's uncle

Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London Private Collection

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.122, illustrated, p.113

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.81, illustrated, p.77

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20. Snow On The Beach, Great Yarmouth 19. The Spritsail Barge Signed (lower left) Oil on canvas 26 x 36 ins Provenance:

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P & D Colnaghi, London Marlborough Fine Art, London, where purchased by the present owner's father

Signed (lower left) Oil on board 14 x 20 ins Provenance:

Richard Green, London

Literature:

Ron Ranson, Edward Seago, The Vintage Years, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 2003, illustrated, p.89 James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.203, illustrated, p.176

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21. Cottages By An Essex Estuary Signed (lower left) Oil on board 12 x 20 ins Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London, where purchased by the previous owner's husband

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.79, illustrated, p.75

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22. The Deben At Woodbridge Signed (lower left) Oil on board 12 x 20 ins Provenance:

W. H. Patterson, London, where purchased by the previous owner's uncle

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23. A Norfolk Barn Signed (lower left) Oil on board 26 x 36 ins Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London Blair Laing Gallery, Toronto, where purchased by the previous owner's family, January 1961

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.82, illustrated, p.78

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24. October Morning – Horning, Norfolk

25. The Marsh Track

Signed (lower left) Oil on board 20 x 30 ins

Signed (lower left) Oil on board 20 x 30 ins

Provenance:

Literature:

28

Blair Laing Gallery, Toronto, where acquired by the present owners father in the 1960s

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.77, illustrated, p.73

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26. Turf Fen Signed (lower left) Watercolour 14 x 21 ins Provenance:

Marlborough Fine Art, London, where purchased by the previous owner

27. Flood Water, Near Beccles Oil on board 12 x 16 ins Provenance:

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Gifted by the artist to Miss Pepita Ramsey Fairfax Christie's, London, 10 June 1983 Spink, London, where purchased by the present owner

28. Hall Fen Loke, Norfolk Signed (lower left) Oil on board 22 x 36 ins Provenance:

Private Collection, South Africa

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29. Horsey Mill, Norfolk

30. The Yare at Harford Bridge, Norfolk

Signed and dated ‘50’ (lower left) Oil on board 12 x 16 ins

Signed (lower left) Oil on canvas 12 x 16 ins

Provenance:

Provenance:

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P & D Colnaghi, London Private Collection

Frost & Reed, London Private Collection, USA

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I TA LY

31. The Leaning Palazzo Signed (lower left) Oil on board 20 x 26 ins Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.167, illustrated, p.147

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32. Gondolas By The Salute, Venice Signed (lower left) Oil on board 26 x 36 ins Provenance:

Marlborough Fine Art, London Private Collection

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.173, illustrated, p.153

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33. Scuola di San Marco, Venice Signed (lower left) Watercolour 15 x 22 ins Provenance:

Marlborough Fine Art, London, Richard Green, London, where purchased by the present owner in 2005

Exhibited:

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Edward Seago, Paintings and Watercolours, November 1972, cat.no. 57

34. S. Vidal, Venice Bears studio stamp (lower left) Watercolour 15 x 21 ins Provenance:

Literature:

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Estate of Edward Seago Spink, London, where purchased by the previous owner James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.171, illustrated, p.151

35. A Square In Como Signed (lower left) Watercolour 10 x 15 ins Provenance:

Richard Green, London, where purchased by the present owner

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37. Outside St Peter’s, Rome Signed (lower left) Watercolour 14 x 20 ins 36. Sunlit Boats, Chioggia

Exhibited:

Signed (lower left) Watercolour 10 x 15 ins

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Edward Seago Memorial Exhibition, 4 December - 3 January 1975, cat.no.82

Literature:

Francis Hawcroft, Edward Seago, A Review Of The Years 1953-1964, Collins, London, 1965, cat.no.50, illustrated

Provenance:

40

P & D Colnaghi, London, where purchased by the previous owner

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EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA

38. The Rond Pond, Tuileries Gardens, Paris Signed (lower left) Oil on canvas 26 x 36 ins Provenance:

Frost & Reed, London, where purchased by the present owner’s parents

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39. Grand Bassin Octagonal, Tuileries Gardens

40. Fishing Boats On The Beach, Cascais

Oil on board 12 x 16 ins

Signed (lower left) Oil on board 12 x 16 ins

Provenance:

44

Estate of Edward Seago Thence by descent

Provenance:

Private Collection

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41. Richmond River Scene Signed (lower left) Watercolour 10 x 14 ins Provenance:

Stacy Marks, Eastbourne Private Collection

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.135, illustrated, p.123

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42. Low Tide, Strand-On-The-Green Signed (lower left) Oil on board 18 x 24 ins Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London, where purchased by the present owner

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44. The Fish Quay, Honfleur 43. The Inner Basin, Ostend Signed and dated ‘50’ (lower left) Oil on board 12 x 16 ins Provenance:

48

Private Collection

Signed (lower left) Oil on board 12 x 20 ins Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London W. H. Patterson, London, where purchased by the previous owner's uncle

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45. Sunlight and Shadow in the Souk, Marrakech Signed (lower left) Oil on board 11 x 14 ins Provenance:

Blair Laing Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Canada

Exhibited:

Possibly London, Marlborough Fine Art, Edward Seago Memorial Exhibition, 4 December -3 January 1975, cat.no.87

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46. The Pink Fishing Boat, Nafplion, Greece Signed (lower left) Oil on board 20 x 30 ins Provenance:

P & D Colnaghi, London, where purchased by the previous owner's parents

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STILL LIFE

48. Cactus And Catalogues Signed and dated ‘51’ (lower left) Oil on board 12 x 16 ins 47. Summer Flowers

Provenance:

Watercolour 15 x 10 ins

Thomas Gibson Fine Art, London Spink, London

Exhibited:

London, Thomas Gibson Fine Art , cat.no.156

Literature:

James Russell, Edward Seago, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, cat.no.124, illustrated, p.115

Provenance:

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P & D Colnaghi, London, where purchased by the previous owner

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EDWARD SEAGO Biography

Exhibitions

1962

Commissioned by John Swire (Chairman of the

1929

Arlington Gallery, London

1981

Marlborough Fine Art, Mandarin Hotel, Hong Kong

1910

Born in Norwich 31 March at 13 Christchurch Road

1933

Sporting Gallery, London (again 1934, 1937)

1981

Richard Green Gallery, London (regularly since)

1924

The Family moved to Brooke, Norfolk

Far Eastern Trading & Shipping Group) to paint a

1936

Alpine Club Gallery, London (again 1937)

1981

Thomas Gibson Fine Art Ltd, London (again 1987)

1930 -33

Spent most of his time with travelling circuses in

series of landscapes of Hong Kong.

1938

Carstairs Gallery, New York

1981

Coe Kerr Gallery, New York

Great Britain and on the Continent.

Retrospective loan exhibition at the Castle

1939

Medici Gallery, London

1987

Spink and Son Ltd., London

1933

Published his first book, Circus Company

Museum, presented by Norwich Corporation.

1944

Castle Museum, Norwich

1992

John Noott Galleries, Broadway

1935

Drawing for magazines including Punch and

1964 1966

First painting trip to Greece.

First painting trip to Morocco; returned in 1967

1944

City Art Gallery, Bristol

1999

Fine Art Society, Edward Seago's War Paintings

spending his time between the family home in

1945

P & D Colnaghi, London (regularly until 1967)

2002

Portland Gallery, London (again 2004, 2007)

Norfolk and his London Studio in Chelsea.

1946

Castle Museum, Norwich (Italian War Pictures);

2006

Jeremy Taylor Gallery, London (regularly – 2012)

City Art Gallery, Bristol

2010

1948

Annan Gallery, Glasgow

2012

1950

The Assembly House, Norwich

1950

Laing Gallery, Toronto (regularly in 1950s)

1952

Kennedy Gallery, New York (again 1954, 1956,

Edward Seago was represented by P & D

1939-44

Served with the Royal Engineers

1944

Invited by Field Marshal Alexander to work in

The Royal Collection

Italy during the Italian Campaign

Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery

1945

Acquired the Dutch House, Ludham

National Trust

and 1968.

Published the first of three books produced in

1971

First painting trip to Istanbul.

Portland Gallery, London (Centenary Exhibition)

ollaboration with John Masefield. Spent three

1974

Died 19th January.

Portland Gallery, London (Diamond Jubilee

months in Monte Carlo making studies of the

Exhibition)

ballet in rehearsal and then went with the

1937

company to New York.

Works in Public Collections

1959, 1961)

Colnaghi, London, then Marlborough Fine

1952

Watson Gallery, Montreal

Art, London.

1953

Oslo / Bergen, Norway

1954

King’s Lynn Festival (Loan Exhibition)

Thomas Gibson Fine Art represented the

1946

Elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists

Government Art Collection

1954

Cowie Gallery, Los Angeles (again 1962)

Estate of Edward Seago until 2009.

1951

First painting trip to Holland; returned in 1953,

Royal Air Force Museum

1957

St James’s Palace, London

1954 and 1969.

Southend Museums Service

1958

Galerie Breughel, Brussels (again 1960)

Portland Gallery has represented the Estate of

First painting trip to France; returned in 1952,

National Army Museum

1962

The Castle Museum, Norwich (Loan Exhibition)

Edward Seago since 2009.

1956, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964 and 1967.

Imperial War Museums

1963

Pieter Wenning Gallery, Johannesburg (again

Appointed one of the official Coronation artists.

National Portrait Gallery, London

First painting trips to Portugal and Spain.

The Keep Military Museum

1953

1971, 1975) 1964

Russell Button Gallery, Chicago

1955

Visited Italy; returned in 1957 and 1958.

Reading Museum

1968

Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco

1956

First painting trips to Singapore and Antarctica.

Great Yarmouth Museums

1968

Marlborough Fine Art, London (regularly until 1985)

1956-7

Accompanied the Duke of Edinburgh on his tour

Scott Polar Research Institute, University of

1971

Fuji Television Gallery, Tokyo

around the world on Britannia.

Cambridge

1973

Marlborough-Galerie, Zurich

A loan exhibition at St James’s Palace of pictures

Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

1974

Fermoy Art Gallery, King’s Lynn

painted during the tour.

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of

1974

Marlborough Fine Art, London (Memorial

1957

Elected Associate of Royal Watercolour Society

East Anglia

Exhibition)

1958

Designed the set for the London production of

Bradford Museums and Galleries

William Golding’s play, The Brass Butterfly

City of London Corporation

Elected a member of the Royal Watercolour Society

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

1979

Marlborough Cervo Tennis Club, Porto Cervo, Sardinia

1959

49. Pin Mill Pencil 4½ x 7 ins

All images © The Estate of Edward Seago, courtesy of Portland Gallery

ALAN DAVIE 2014 PORTLAND GALLERY

PORTLAND GALLE RY