Carey Morris (17 May 1882 – 17 November 1968) was a Welsh painter born in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.[1] He was related to the Welsh poet Sir Lewis Morris.[2]
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Carey Morris was the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Boynes Morris who were an established local family and ran a house painter and decorator's business in Llandeilo. The family lived in a house on Prospect Place, which now forms part of Rhosmaen Street.[1] He married Jessie Morris, who was the author of children's books, which he illustrated.[2]
Morris attended the National school (England and Wales), Llandeilo County School, and the Slade School of Art.[1] Physician Henry Tonks was an art professor there at the time, and Morris' studies gave him a facility with anatomy that later influenced his work, adding depth that critics described as three-dimensional in quality.[1][2]
He went on to study at the Newlyn School of Painting in Cornwall, and used many Cornish people for his paintings and studies, such as Saunders the Postman and Gillieboo, his dog. The landscape and clarity of light in Cornwall also made an impression on his work.[1]
After Newlyn, he returned to London and maintained a studio on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, although he frequently returned to visit Llandeilo. Some residents of his hometown gained national exposure through his art, as with the two members of the Edwards family featured at work in their home in 1910 in The Welsh Weavers, which was published in the United States as well as the United Kingdom.[1] Visitors to his London studio included William Orpen, John Nash (artist), Ethelbert White, Mr & Mrs Stanhope Forbes, Frank Brangwyn, Evan Walters, Sir George Clausen and Sir Herbert Herkomer.[1][2]
During the First World War, he enlisted into the South Wales Borderers and served in the trenches of Flanders, where he suffered from poison gas which left him with life-long health issues. He spent twelve months in hospitals in the Isle of Wight and Liverpool and, as a result, he missed the great offensive of 30 July 1917 where his company Sergeant-Major Jack Williams (VC), of B Company, won the Victoria Cross.[1]
Morris painted during the First World War but had a limited range of colours, having lost his paint tubes during shelling at Boesinghe village. One unexpected commission during this time was to paint a landscape prominently featuring a hare on its haunches on the lid of a coffin of village sportsman. When news of this got around the village, the whole neighbourhood came out to see the impromptu exhibition, including its intended recipient, who only then did Morris learn was still alive.[1]
During the 1920s, Morris was a director of the National Eisteddfod, focusing on the arts and crafts side of the festival and writing about potential improvements of the Gorsedd ceremony. Sir Joseph Bradney was among the members of the Welsh squirearchy who hosted him during this time.
After the First World War, Morris wrote on many subjects concerning art. In his Personality as a Force in Art he wrote on the impact of mood and personality in painting. The artist's mood and personality were naturally reflected, but so were the mood of the subject, even if natural, with "[t]he power of concealing several moods in one portrait...proportionate to the genius and sympathy in the artist's own personality."[1] Morris believed "that personality never dies. It lives on in a man's work and if it can be so alive long after his physical body is laid in the grave, is it not reasonable to suppose that the essence of his individuality is still alive? Human beings have different tasks to perform in the world; some have been destined to plan great works which have been too heavy a burden for their physical span of life, but their personalities are still alive, inspiring others to build on the foundation which they have laid. Is it not reasonable to suppose that personality 'the dweller innermost' then relives to inspire others?"[1] He encouraged a greater acceptance of the beautiful in religious practice in Art and Religion in Wales and urged better education in craft in Craftsmanship Should Not Be Allowed to Die.[1]
In Llandeilo he remained responsible for the family business and had a special interest in designing the flag which Llandeilo sent to its namesake, the town of Llandeilo in New South Wales.[1]