Cedric Morris (1889 – 1982) was one of the most talented painters of the natural world in twentieth-century British art.

Morris met his partner the artist Arthur Lett-Haines on Armistice Day in 1919 and in 1939 they established the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing at Benton End, a rambling Tudor cottage in the Sussex countryside.

Notable students at the school included Lucien Freud and Maggi Hambling and it was in the cottage’s gardens that Morris developed his lifelong interest in horticulture, subsequently becoming famous for breeding exotic varieties of Irises.

This new exhibition explores Morris’ relationship with Lett-Haines and Benton End, his travels across Europe to find and paint new plant species and his lifelong affinity with the natural world.

This is the first major presentation of Morris’ work in the North of England and includes works on loan from Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Gainsborough’s House, Philip Mould Gallery and a number of private collections.