The exhibition celebrates the vibrant flower paintings of Cedric Morris (1889–1982). Guest-curated by James Horner, Head Gardener at Benton End, the exhibition brings together works that have played a key role in the revival of Morris’s historic Suffolk garden.
Benton End, a sixteenth-century house near Hadleigh, was the home of Morris and his lifelong partner Arthur Lett-Haines (1894–1978). From this remarkable setting, the pair ran the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing – a place where art, horticulture, and community thrived side by side. With its free-flowing spirit, open-minded ethos, and rejection of academic conventions, Benton End became a haven for creative freedom. Many artists, including a young Lucian Freud, acknowledged that it was here where their true artistic identities first took root.
Following Morris’ death in 1982, the house and garden fell into neglect. In 2021, Benton End was gifted to the Garden Museum, and over the past two years, its gardens have been carefully renewed. Many of Morris’ original flowers and planting schemes have now been reintroduced, guided by the paintings on display in this exhibition.
Morris’ flower paintings, admired for their bold compositions, painterly vitality, and botanical precision, capture the spirit of his caring, intuitive gardening style. In a remarkable collaboration between art and horticulture, James Horner and his team have used these works as living documents helping Benton End bloom once more in line with Morris’s philosophy, more than half a century since he first stepped foot on its soil.
| Duration | 20 May 2025 – 18 June 2025 |
| Times | Monday – Friday: 9:30 am – 6:00 pm. |
| Cost | Free |
| Venue | Philip Mould & Company |
| Address | 18-19 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5LU, , |
| Contact | +44(0) 20 7499 6818 / art@philipmould.com / www.philipmould.com/ |