Brixton Artist Don Morgans

[Lucy316]

I've come across a thread from some time ago about Dominoes in Brixton which mentioned a painting by Don Morgans. Don lived in Brixton from 1979 until his untimely death in the late 1980s. He studied Fine Art in Cardiff having already completed an apprenticeship as a fitter & turner. The move to London was to be near the West End galleries & he had some success through Francis Kyle in Maddox Street. The sights & sounds of Brixton were a huge inspiration for Don. He entered various open competitions including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition & the GLC Spirit of London. His entry depicting a bus stop scrummage, " Two Inside, One on Top", was runner up one year followed by his winning entry "Domino Players at the Atlantic". The whereabouts of these paintings is a bit of a mystery although Guildhall Art Gallery took over responsibility for the GLC's art collection. Don's success was recorded in the South London Press at the time & he appeared on Thames News accepting his prize from master forger, Tom Keating - see YouTube clip below.
Don gained various commissions including the Imperial War Museum, Fyffes Bananas & artwork for the Boothill Foot-Tappers. If anyone has further info I'd love to hear it.

 

[Casaubon]

Hi Lucy

‘Domino Players’ was indeed inherited by the Guildhall Gallery. I contacted them in 2013 and they were quite happy to retrieve it from storage for me to have a look.

It’s not in good shape, the constituent panels are coming apart and it’s ‘in need of restoration’.

I got some pictures, but in the poor light of the basement they didn’t come out very well.



I’ve got a postcard of one of Don’s Cornish pictures:



In ’84 Don gave me a watercolour of my VW beetle, it hangs on my bedroom wall. He really nailed it, down to the cable tie holding the front number plate on.

 

[Lucy316]

Thanks Casaubon, that's a much better view of the Dominoes than in the Thames News clip, I'm really glad you tracked it down. I'll try & see it myself one day when we're allowed to do such things. I'd forgotten that postcard, I have one somewhere.
I've got some pics of Don's other works but am having trouble attaching them. Will try & post them separately or PM you.

 

[Lucy316]

 

[Lucy316]

Brixton Market (Electric Avenue), sorry either too dark or too bright, but you get the gist. Cardiff v Wrexham, Cardiff to go up & Wrexham to avoid relegation. Cardiff won.