Cecil Kennedy | Flower painter

Cecil Kennedy (1905-1997) was a painter in oils who specialised in flowers becoming one of the popular British flower painters of his time.

Cecil Kennedy was celebrated as one of the finest horticultural and still-life artists of the 20th century.

He is best known for his extraordinarily detailed and luminous flower arrangements, which critics frequently compared to the works of the 17th-century Dutch and Flemish Old Masters.

After training at art school in London, Paris, Antwerp and Zürich, Kennedy studied under a number of artists, the most influential being Nieco Jungmann.

Served in the British Army during World War II.

His deployment to Antwerp in 1944 allowed him to study Flemish museum collections firsthand, shifting his focus heavily toward precise still-life details.

His work famously features a tiny ladybird or bumblebee tucked into the arrangements.

Queen Mary originally noticed a ladybird in an early painting and suggested he make it his permanent artistic trademark.

He also studied in Antwerp and Paris and was awarded a silver medal at the Paris Salon in 1956 and a gold medal in 1970.

His carefully delineated flower paintings have been likened to those of the Dutch 17th Century Masters in approach and devotion to detail.

Kennedy has held exhibitions in London, Paris, New York and Johannesburg and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, The Royal Hibernian and the Royal Scottish Academy.

Blended the clinical accuracy of a botanist with highly atmospheric lighting and deep, rich colors.

His wife, Winifred, was an expert florist who meticulously curated the mid-18th-century Waterford glass and silver vase arrangements that Kennedy painted.

While utilizing historic painting techniques, he integrated contemporary 20th-century floral trends, including exotic hybrids and striking "all-white" bouquet styles popularized by Vita Sackville-West.

Attracted elite international collectors, including Queen Mary, the Duke of Windsor, the Astor family, and Lord Thomson of Fleet.

Cecil Kennedy (1905-1997) è stato un pittore Britannico, considerato uno dei massimi maestri del XX secolo nella pittura di nature morte e composizioni floreali.

I suoi dipinti, eseguiti prevalentemente ad olio, si distinguono per un livello di dettaglio iperrealista straordinario, fortemente ispirato alle opere dei maestri fiamminghi ed olandesi del XVII secolo.

Kennedy univa la precisione scientifica di un botanico a un uso moderno e d'atmosfera della luce.

Durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale fu di stanza ad Anversa; lì poté studiare da vicino i capolavori olandesi e fiamminghi, perfezionando la sua meticolosa tecnica pittorica.

I ricchi e complessi bouquet ritratti nelle sue opere venivano quasi tutti composti e curati da sua moglie, Winifred Aves.

Spesso utilizzavano come contenitori la loro collezione privata di vasi in cristallo di Waterford del XVIII secolo.

Una delle caratteristiche più famose e curiose dei suoi quadri è la presenza costante di un piccolo insetto - solitamente una coccinella od un calabrone – nascosto tra le foglie o i petali.

Questo dettaglio nacque su suggerimento della Regina Mary, sua grande estimatrice e collezionista.

Espose regolarmente presso istituzioni prestigiose come la Royal Academy di Londra.

Ricevette inoltre una medaglia d'argento (1956) ed una medaglia d'oro (1970) al celebre Salon di Parigi.