Lot 763: A Vintage Cecil Riley Signed Surrealist Oil on Board Landscape Painting
A vintage Cecil Riley signed surrealist oil on board landscape painting, depicting a whimsical woodland scene populated by nude human figures and various species of colourful fish swimming through the air and foliage. The composition features a central figure playing a flute on the left, a standing female figure holding flowers on the right, and a smaller, stylised golden figure perched on a branch in the mid-ground. The work is characteristic of British naive surrealism, utilising a bright, decorative palette with fine, stippled brushwork for the dense forest greenery and smooth transitions for the figures and fantastical fish. The painting is signed CECIL RILEY. in black to the lower right corner. It is housed in a substantial tiered wooden frame painted in two shades of green with a cream-coloured inner slip. A white adhesive auction label is present on the frame reading HCP Auctions South West, Lot 763, and www.hcpauctions.net.
Condition report:
Minor surface dust and dirt consistent with age (photo 1). Small scuffs and paint loss to the green-painted frame edges (photo 2). Slight separation at the mitered corners of the frame (photo 3). The board appears flat and structurally sound (photo 1).
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