Cecil Rochfort D’Oyly-John (1906-1993) was
born in South Africa, later settling in London,
Brighton and Rottingdean on the south coast of
England. He travelled extensively on the
Continent and became well known for his
Mediterranean landscapes, which were
popularised through prints.
A hallmark of D’Oyly-
John’s technique is his thick application of oil paint
with a palette knife. During his heyday in the late
1940s, 1950s and 1960s he tapped into the
market for cheerful representations of what were
then becoming increasingly accessible holiday
destinations.
The artist himself was a colourful character, who
mixed with the rich and famous including,
amongst others, the actor Jon Pertwee, the
playwright Terence Rattigan, the society osteopath
(of Profumo Affair infamy) Stephen Ward, and
the socialite Lady Docker.
This richly illustrated monograph is the first on
D’Oyly-John and demonstrates the continuing
appeal of his paintings which capture the
brilliance of the Mediterranean sunlight.
Philip Kelleway was born in Kenya and
studied at the universities of London
(Goldsmiths’ College), Marburg, and
Reading, before gaining his doctorate
from the University of East Anglia.
As a scholar of eighteenth-century
ceramics, Kelleway has contributed to
specialist publications. Kelleway also
writes on twentieth-century painting
and is the author of Highly Desirable:
The Zinkeisen Sisters and Their Legacy.
Kelleway furthers his interest in landscape
painting with this study on the
hitherto critically neglected work of
D’Oyly-John.
Paul Mayhew was born in Henley-on-
Thames, Oxfordshire and was
educated on The Wirral, Cheshire and
then at Bangor University in Wales.
He now lives in Bloomsbury, London
and is an art dealer who exhibits
regularly at the major art fairs in
London. His interest in the paintings of
D’Oyly-John began twenty years ago
when he saw one which brought back
memories of his holidays in Provence
and the Côte d’Azur of south-east
France.
Imprint: Halstar. ISBN 978 1 906690 40 3, hardback, 238x258mm, 144 pages. Published October 2012.