Mid-Century Surrealist Painting “Possible Future” by Robert Laidlaw Morley
This visually commanding painting is an original by Bristol-born artist Robert Laidlaw Morley (1944-). He is also known by the names ‘Mr Bob’ and ‘Fairfax Hake’.
From 1961 to 1963 he was a student at the West of England College of Art in Bristol. He then went on to become part of a group of artists, actors, writers and musicians who took over the ailing West Cornwall Arts Centre in Penzance, re-naming it The Acorn Theatre.
In 1974 he exhibited at The Orion Gallery, Penzance with a collection titled “My Lucky Number”. This painting titled “Possible Future” was included, and the original exhibition label is still attached to the back.
Following a visit to Morley’s exhibition, Ivan Benbrook (of the British Film Institute) wrote: 'We live in only a small part of reality; there is always so much more than we can perceive with our limited senses. The artist's fantasies can often help us to see a part of that greater reality. Bob's paintings are not just intellectual statements, but pictures of how things might be. They are windows to look through, holes in everyday reality through which we can wander and discover new things about ourselves, our concept of our relationship with the world with which we surround ourselves.'
Morley has had a long career, with exhibitions not only in Cornwall but also in London and Europe. In recent years, Morley participated in a collaborative project in 2005 for a ceramic sculpture at Chukyo University, Japan. In 2023, Morley and his peers held their fourth collaborative art exhibition “Public Hanging”.
The painting is acrylic on canvas and is mounted in a minimalist chrome frame, signed and dated in the bottom corner.
It’s in formally good condition with no significant damage. It’s worth noting there are some small textured bumps and faint ridges within the blue area of the painting, it looks to be ghostly traces of a previous painting underneath the current one. There are also a couple of faint marks but they’re not hugely noticeable amongst the bright colours.
Frame measures 79cm x 79cm.
Delivery available.
This visually commanding painting is an original by Bristol-born artist Robert Laidlaw Morley (1944-). He is also known by the names ‘Mr Bob’ and ‘Fairfax Hake’.
From 1961 to 1963 he was a student at the West of England College of Art in Bristol. He then went on to become part of a group of artists, actors, writers and musicians who took over the ailing West Cornwall Arts Centre in Penzance, re-naming it The Acorn Theatre.
In 1974 he exhibited at The Orion Gallery, Penzance with a collection titled “My Lucky Number”. This painting titled “Possible Future” was included, and the original exhibition label is still attached to the back.
Following a visit to Morley’s exhibition, Ivan Benbrook (of the British Film Institute) wrote: 'We live in only a small part of reality; there is always so much more than we can perceive with our limited senses. The artist's fantasies can often help us to see a part of that greater reality. Bob's paintings are not just intellectual statements, but pictures of how things might be. They are windows to look through, holes in everyday reality through which we can wander and discover new things about ourselves, our concept of our relationship with the world with which we surround ourselves.'
Morley has had a long career, with exhibitions not only in Cornwall but also in London and Europe. In recent years, Morley participated in a collaborative project in 2005 for a ceramic sculpture at Chukyo University, Japan. In 2023, Morley and his peers held their fourth collaborative art exhibition “Public Hanging”.
The painting is acrylic on canvas and is mounted in a minimalist chrome frame, signed and dated in the bottom corner.
It’s in formally good condition with no significant damage. It’s worth noting there are some small textured bumps and faint ridges within the blue area of the painting, it looks to be ghostly traces of a previous painting underneath the current one. There are also a couple of faint marks but they’re not hugely noticeable amongst the bright colours.
Frame measures 79cm x 79cm.
Delivery available.