Cyril Mann has far too long remained one of the unsung heroes of modern British art. Born in 1911, he became the youngest ever person to win a scholarship to the Nottingham School of Art. He then moved to Canada where he met and worked with Arthur Lismer and other members of the Group of Seven, before returning to London where he studied at the Royal Academy Schools and later he taught at the L C C Central School of Art.

Critics have often struggled to categorise Mann into one particular school of artists. His early works had strong expressionist qualities, whilst later pieces seem to have an affinity with the semi-surrealist approach of the English Neo-Romantics, developing from straightforward landscape to sun-obsessed symbolism. However, his work is ultimately characterised by a visionary energy focusing on the dynamic effects of light and shadow. *

Mann was born in London but in his early years moved with his family to Nottingham. In 1923 at the age of 12 he became the youngest boy to win a scholarship to the Nottingham College of Art, and four years later he moved to Canada and worked as a missionary. He returned to London in 1932 to continue his studies and he was sponsored to attend the Royal Academy Schools in 1935, where he developed his bright expressionist style of painting. Following his time at the Royal Academy he moved to Paris and attended the Grand Chaumières.

During the Second World War, Mann served with the Royal Artillery Force, settling in Finsbury once the war was over. The presence of the sun in his pictures of post-war London and the power of its shattering rays bouncing off the urban landscapes evoke a curiously peaceful atmosphere despite the obvious Blitz devastation to the city.

In the early 1950s Mann went on to explore the more tangible effect of light on objects in a style that became known as 'Solid Shadow'. The 1960s brought another change in his style, a development that appears to have coincided with the start of his second marriage. From the 1960s onwards Mann's palette became brighter and his brushwork more vibrant. His subject matter also became increasingly more domestic.

Title:
Jazz Cafe

Size:
14 x 17.5 " (H x W)

Chalk

Price:
£295

Title:
London Bridge
This drawing was featured on the interior double pages, both back and front of the Cyril Man Autobiography 'The Sun is God'.

Size:
15 x 17 " (H x W)

Charcoal

Price:
£2800

Title:
Finsbury, London

Size:
12.5 x 16 " (H x W)

Charcoal