Sir Cedric Morris was born in Sketty, near Swansea, succeeding his father as 9th Baronet in 1947. Although Morris had no formal training he attended the ecoles libres in Paris where teachers included Ferdinand Leger. On returning to London he exhibited with the 7&5 Society and was elected a member of the London Group. In 1937 he, together with Arthur Lett-Harris, opened the East Anglian School of Art – past students included the painters Lucian Freud and Maggi Hambling. In the grounds of the school Morris cultivated a garden and became a renowned breeder of iris. In his paintings Morris had a strong sense of colour with compositions which juxtaposed a bold foreground motif against a generalised background.