Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 24

Roger Cecil
Llangorse Lake Brecon Beacons Wales Circa 1964 Welsh Abstract Landscape Painting

1964

About the Item

Roger Cecil. Welsh ( b.1942 - d.2015 ). Llangorse, Brecon Beacons. Watercolor & Pastel Mixed Media On Paper. Signed Lower Left. Image size 19.5 inches x 29.5 inches ( 49.5cm x 75cm ). Frame size 24.6 inches x 34.6 inches ( 62.5cm x 88cm ). Available for sale from Big Sky Fine Art in the English county of Dorset, this original painting is by the Welsh artist Roger Cecil and dates from around 1964. The watercolor and pastel mixed media work is presented and supplied in a sympathetic contemporary frame (our stock frame, which is shown in these photographs), mounted using conservation materials and behind glass. The original backboard has been retained to maintain the provenance of a circa 1964 gallery label. The artwork has been isolated from the backboard using conservation barrier materials. This vintage artwork is in good condition, commensurate with its age. The paper has been conserved and remounted by a professional paper conservator on our instruction, supervision and approval. The painting is now ready to hang and display. The watercolor is signed lower left. Provenance: Previously with the Howard Roberts Gallery, Imperial Buildings, 69/74 St Mary Street, Cardiff. Roger Cecil was a reclusive painter, draughtsman and teacher who was born in Abertillery, Monmouthshire in 1942. He lived and worked in Wales for the last four decades of his life, much of it in the house where he was born and brought up. Cecil produced abstract work rich in imagery, poetry and color, which were drawn from his environment, the industrial valley towns and mountains. Prolific and obsessive, he was always a solitary artist, with no affiliations to any group or artistic movement. He worked for more than forty years, with an ever evolving and prolific creative output. His pictures capture the geology and the history of the places he knew so intimately, and the impact of man of that environment. Cecil studied Fine Art at Newport College of Art from 1959 to 1963, where his teachers included John Wright and Thomas Rathmell; in 1963 he gained the College’s highest award in the national diploma in design and a place at the Royal College London. In 1964 he won the David Murray Landscape Award from the RA. He took up his place at the Royal College of Art, but after just a few weeks he was unsatisfied and instead took up manual work in opencast mines and building sites. Cecil later spent some time teaching at Ebbw Vale. From 1995 to 1998 he did his MA, which he gained with distinction in communication design at St. Martin’s College of Art. The BBC made a television documentary on Cecil's work called The Gentle Rebel. For a long time Cecil did not exhibit, through choice, and it was friends who helped to promote him. He then had a series of exhibitions at Business Art Galleries from 1987, and in 1995 the Hill Court Gallery, Abergavenny, held a retrospective of his work. In 1998 Gordon Hepworth and Y Tabernacl both showed Cecil's pictures. Cecil’s works were also shown at the Oriel Myrddin Gallery in 2006 and 20011. The small book which takes the name of the earlier exhibition ”Cariad”; has an introduction by gallery manager Meg Anthony which states; “The magic of Roger Cecil’s work is in part down to the man, for he is enigmatic and surprising, diffident and proud. He has deliberately avoided the art establishment, remaining shy of its protocol and systems of exposure and recognition. He has consciously created the space to pursue his art, away from the pressures of publicity and celebrity...... paint is Roger’s passion.” Cecil’s methods were complex; he worked with a mixture of materials, including oil pastels, sandpaper, primer and plaster. He built up layers and then he rubbed and scratched them away. His work is textured and nuanced, and the color reverberates as if it has a life of its own. The paintings are abstract, but there are echoes of monumental shapes and undulations of the female form, the Valleys - the dark hills embracing the bowls of space and the rich, gritty textures of the industrial and post-industrial landscape, highlighted by intricate, personal marks. Sarah Bradford states: “Scale is an important feature of Roger Cecil’s work; he constantly shifts from near and the far off. He also moves his viewpoint from looking at, to looking down on to. This looking down, as though a bird, onto the world of the painting, comes from exploration of his surroundings and from the ordinance survey maps he takes with him when he walks. He has often said how he is inspired by the language of symbols and lines that are used in maps to delineate the landscape. It is easy to see the connection when looking at the networks of invented footpaths, waterways, and other pinpoint features that can be found in his work.” … Mary Lloyd Jones visited Cecil’s studio and reported that “Visiting the artists house and studio seemed like entering a tardis; a magical treasure house, a labyrinth of small rooms with interconnecting corridors stretching seemingly without end. This was the workplace of a committed artist, inventive and skillful craftsman who has maintained a playful and adventurous attitude to the nevertheless serious business of making art.” It has been said that the detail of his paintings was like his private language. He hesitated from imposing his meaning on anyone else, preferring others to come to his work in their own way and on their terms. There is something very quiet, insistent and challenging about Roger Cecil’s work. The elusive nature of his abstract imagery – where color, texture, form and space rub against each other – seems to be echoed in the quiet but deliberate character of the man. In the mature years of his career, and despite a well earned reputation as one of Wales’ most accomplished artists, Cecil continued to push his practice and develop his work. He remained a very private and modest man, and certainly a reluctant hero. Roger Cecil was found dead by the roadside in Cwmbran on 21st February 2015 after a hospital stay in Newport. © Big Sky Fine Art This original watercolor and pastel mixed media artwork on paper by Roger Cecil depicts the Llangorse Lake east of Brecon, between the Central Beacons and the Black Mountains of Wales. Llangorse Lake is the largest natural lake in Wales, lying in a hollow formed by glacial action. It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSCI). The view takes us across the gorse and meadows in the foreground, over the tranquil lake and to the magnificent mountain range in the background. The palette is neutral, though with warm shades, and the overall effect is one of peace and serenity.
  • Creator:
    Roger Cecil (1942 - 2015, Welsh)
  • Creation Year:
    1964
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 24.61 in (62.5 cm)Width: 34.65 in (88 cm)Depth: 0.99 in (2.5 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    This vintage artwork is in good condition, commensurate with its age. The paper has been conserved and remounted by a professional paper conservator on our instruction, supervision and approval. The painting is now ready to hang and display.
  • Gallery Location:
    Sutton Poyntz, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU489314441692

More From This Seller

View All
The Atlantic Coast Cornwall Framed 1970s Cornish Coastal Landscape Painting
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Elizabeth Rosemary Ziar. English ( b.1919 - d.2003 ). The North Coast Of Cornwall, West Penwith. Watercolor. Signed Monogram Lower Right. Image size 15 i...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

The First Day At School In Rural Wales Framed Welsh Cultural Pastel Artwork
By Julian Ruddock
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Julian Ruddock. British ( b.1965 ). To School In Llanfihangel. (First Day At School). Pastel On Paper. Signed Lower Left. Image size 21.7 inches x 29.6 inches ( 55cm x 75cm ). Frame...
Category

Late 20th Century Expressionist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Lost Hedgerows Framed Environmental Activism Pastel Artwork Late 20th Century
By Julian Ruddock
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Julian Ruddock. British ( b.1965 ). Lost Hedgerows. Pastel On Paper. Signed Lower Right. Image size 21.9 inches x 25 inches ( 55.5cm x 63.5cm ). Frame size 29 inches x 32.1 inches ...
Category

Late 20th Century Expressionist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

The Love Between Man And The Deep Blue Sea Honfleur Normandy France Painting
By William Lee Hankey
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
William Lee Hankey. English (b.1869 - d.1952). The Love Between Man And The Deep Blue Sea. Honfleur, Normandy, France. Watercolor. Signed Lower Right. Image size 13.4 inches x 17.3...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Ringstead Bay & White Nothe Dorset Weymouth & Portland 1960s Jurassic Coast
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Lionel Horsnell. English ( b.1932 - d.2011 ). Ringstead Bay & White Nothe, The Jurassic Coast, Dorset. Watercolor On Buff Paper. Signed Lower Right. Ima...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

French Navy Ironclad Warship Battleship Courbet A Sailor’s Sentiment Circa 1910
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
R. Noël. French ( b.XIX - d.XX ). A La Mémoire De Courbet. Gouache & Watercolor On Buff Paper. Signed Lower Right. Image size 16.5 inches x 27.5 inches ( 42cm x 69.5cm ). Frame size ...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil, Watercolor

You May Also Like

"Chimneys at Dusk", Small Pastel San Francisco Abstract Urban Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstracted Bay Area skyline against a pink sunset creates beautiful and soft geometries in this small pastel urban landscape by San Francisco artist Chris...
Category

1990s Abstract Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Watercolor

"Sierra Country", Abstracted Landscape Watercolor
By Erle Loran
Located in Soquel, CA
Vibrant abstract landscape watercolor titled "Sierra Country" by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999), 1984. Titled, signed, and dated on verso. Presented in a painted metal frame, without glass. Image, 23"H x 31"L. Measures: 30"H x 37"W. Erle Loran was a modernist of urban and coastal views and geometric painting. Erle Loran was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Art under the direction of Cameron Booth...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

"Nile Cruise" Watercolor on Paper 12" x 16" inch by Anna Boghiguian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Nile Cruise" Watercolor on Paper 12" x 16" inch by Anna Boghiguian Anna Boghiguian (Cairo, 1946) is one of Egypt's foremost contemporary artists. Of ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings a...

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Wyoming Mountains, Modern Abstract Geometric Landscape Watercolor
By Erle Loran
Located in Soquel, CA
Wyoming Mountains, Modern Abstract Geometric Landscape Watercolor Energetic modern abstract watercolor in blue and orange hues, by Erle Loran (Ame...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Mid Century Abstract Vertical Sunset
By Irene Pattinson
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstract watercolor fragment of a sunset over a field by Irene Pattinson (American, 20th Century). Tag on verso reads "Miller Fine Art / The Estate of Irene Pattinson". Unsigned. Acq...
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Tissue Paper

Abstract Cityscape Watercolor
By Les Anderson
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstract cityscape watercolor with loosely defined landscape elements and geometric shapes by Les (Leslie Luverne) Anderson (American, 19...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Recently Viewed

View All