Desmond Morris: In Memoriam

The Redfern Gallery is deeply saddened to mark the passing of Desmond Morris – celebrated zoologist, best-selling author, and the last surviving artist of the Surrealist movement.

 

Reflecting on his father’s life, Jason Morris described him as:

“A zoologist, manwatcher, author and artist, he was still writing and painting right up until his death. He was a great man and an even better father and grandfather.”

 

Morris’ extraordinary career was defined by a rare ability to move seamlessly between disciplines, uniting scientific enquiry with artistic invention. While studying zoology at the University of Birmingham, he began making intricate drawings inspired by microscopic organisms. These early experiments developed into the biomorphic forms that would come to define his artistic practice: fantastical, hybrid creatures that appear to evolve organically across the picture plane. As David Attenborough observed, they formed a “menagerie of creatures that were all his own.” Although influenced by Joan Miró and Yves Tanguy, Morris established a distinctive visual language, balancing spontaneity with meticulous execution.

 

During his time at Birmingham, Morris befriended like-minded artists and became associated with what would prove to be the final group of Surrealists in Britain. Headed by Conroy Maddox, the group included Emmy Bridgwater, William Gear, and John Melville. Following his first solo exhibition in 1948, Morris gained the support of E. L. T. Mesens, and in 1950 exhibited in London alongside Joan Miró, who would later visit him in the city, marking an early and significant moment in his artistic formation.

 

Yet as Surrealism fell out of critical favour in the post-war years, Morris increasingly turned towards zoology, completing a doctorate at the University of Oxford, and embarking on a highly influential career in the study of animal and human behaviour. By the late 1950s, he had become a familiar public figure through television programmes, he had hosted hundreds of episodes of Zoo Time, a weekly programme for Granada TV, as well as Life in the Animal World, for the BBC, bringing scientific ideas to a wide audience. His ground-breaking book The Naked Ape (1967) achieved international success, selling over 12 million copies, which became one of the most widely read studies of human behaviour. Earlier, in 1957, he had curated a landmark exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts featuring paintings by chimpanzees, a pioneering moment that challenged conventional distinctions between human and animal creativity and led to his influential publication The Biology of Art (1962).

 

Despite his prominence as a scientist and author, Morris never abandoned painting. He maintained what he later described as a “double life,” returning continually to his studio practice. From the 1980s onwards, his artistic work gained renewed recognition, featuring in major exhibitions of Surrealism, and entering significant public collections. His painting The Arena (1976), now held by Tate, stands as a powerful example of his mature style, an eerie, ritualistic scene populated by biomorphic forms that echo his lifelong interest in behavioural patterns. Reflecting on his contribution to the movement, Will Gompertz, Former BBC Arts Editor, observed: “Desmond Morris sits alongside Joan Miró and Jean Arp as a master of biomorphic Surrealism. The strange, organismic shapes he creates, which inhabit eerily marvellous landscapes, are a sublime combination of wit and wonder.”

 

The Redfern Gallery was honoured to present Morris’ first exhibition with the gallery in 2018, coinciding with the publication of his critically acclaimed book The Lives of the Surrealists (2018). The exhibition focused primarily on his works on paper, many of which had been completed in the preceding five years and offered a rare opportunity to view the breadth of his artistic practice. The accompanying catalogue featured essays by David Attenborough and Will Self, and the exhibition saw the sale of over 100 drawings and paintings spanning seven decades. Notable works included Guitar Figure (2013), acquired by the Reiff Collection, while several drawings and The Dove (1948) were acquired by the Ashmolean Museum, the first institution to stage an exhibition of Morris’ work in 1952.

 

The relationship between Desmond Morris and The Redfern Gallery was further developed through the gallery’s second exhibition Desmond Morris: The Last Surrealist in 2022, reaffirming its long-standing commitment to his artistic legacy.

 

We are especially privileged to include Morris’ work in our current inaugural exhibition, Then & Now, at our new premises on Pall Mall. His presence within the exhibition is particularly resonant: it not only reflects the enduring relationship between artist and gallery, but also speaks directly to the exhibition’s central themes of continuity and change.

 

Morris’ legacy is one of remarkable breadth and originality, a life defined by curiosity, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to exploring both the natural and imagined worlds.

 

Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all those who were touched by his life and work.