Eric Meadus (1931 – 70)

Eric Meadus came from one of Southampton’s 1920s – 30s estates, built during the blossoming of the Garden City movement, known as the ‘Flower Roads’ (he was born in Rigby Road, Portswood, but his family soon moved to Lobelia Road). Despite its current reputation, when new these were quality, affordable homes, built on noble ideals, and realising the edifying principle of green spaces within sight of most properties.

From an early age, Meadus showed an aptitude for drawing and became a truly accomplished draughtsman (and a trained technical one). His early passion was for music, an interest he never lost. After National Service, during a European coach-trip he met, and must have fallen for, a French Canadian woman who opened his eyes to the work of Van Gogh, and maybe other Post-Impressionists. Probably in hope of this blossoming, he upped sticks to Toronto for about 18 months, where – with no access to a piano – he had to find some vent for his artistic energies; it was probably also a displacement-activity to cope with the lack of romantic success.
Back home, his paintings attracted attention from the first time he exhibited in mixed shows, especially at the City Art Gallery. His employers, Pirelli General were lucky enough to be able to call on his talents as a cartoonist for their house magazine Cable. Though never out of a job, he considered work an interruption to the true business of life, which was the pursuit of creativity.
Although his drawing is assured, he had to learn, and to struggle for over a decade, to become a painter. Almost until his final year, his ‘paintings’ were really coloured drawings. Many of his works feature the Swaythling houses, other distinctive buildings and open spaces from his home patch. Initially, these were quite reality-based [see above] but, as his vision matured, he began to create fantasy landscapes, implanting other (usually actual) buildings into invented layouts of the Flower Roads housing [see right: a Swaythling corner house is sited next to the passenger shelter from one side of the old Floating Bridge slipways; between them is the clock tower from the opposite landing (or, possibly, abstracted from Bitterne Triangle’s). All these may be on the end of Hythe Pier, or Town Quay, or an imagined landing-stage].
“The First” Gallery owns a substantial part of his oeuvre including a few of his later, most individual, works. It is gradually selling those surplus to the requirement of keeping a representative collection in accessible places, through a series of exhibitions (where you may also view the ones it is keeping).

Southampton City Art Gallery holds over half a dozen Meadus line drawings and some three dozen paintings, including recent bequests. They show these as occasion and space permit. Meadus’ earliest one-man exhibition at “The First” was in May 1984 (the Gallery, as a full-time, open-by-appointment venture was launched on the back of it; his input into the first two tiny Xmas shows in 1968 & ’69 planted the seed from which the whole thing started). After a later show, in Spring ’96, a permanent Meadus Alcove was set up. There are now five large Meadus collections, including private ones in Ireland and Brighton.
“The First”s aim is to build Eric Meadus’ posthumous reputation until he is as well-known as he deserved, and to disperse a majority of his work onto the walls of art-lovers everywhere, so that it may be enjoyed as he intended.
These few words hardly scratch the surface of Meadus’ multi-faceted aesthetic concerns, which encompassed music, writing, designing educational games, and – briefly – carving.

In 1999, “The First” Gallery worked with Tudor House Museum on an Eric Meadus exhibition there, showing some works for the first time.

	Eric Meadus came from one of Southampton’s 1920s – 30s estates, built during the blossoming of the Garden City movement, known as the ‘Flower Roads’ (he was born in Rigby Road, Portswood, but his family soon moved to Lobelia Road). Despite its current reputation, when new these were quality, affordable homes, built on noble ideals, and realising the edifying principle of green spaces within sight of most properties.
From an early age, Meadus showed an aptitude for drawing and became a truly accomplished draughtsman (and a trained technical one). His early passion was for music, an interest he never lost. After National Service, during a European coach-trip he met, and must have fallen for, a French Canadian woman who opened his eyes to the work of Van Gogh, and maybe other Post-Impressionists. Probably in hope of this blossoming, he upped sticks to Toronto for about 18 months, where – with no access to a piano – he had to find some vent for his artistic energies; it was probably also a displacement-activity to cope with the lack of romantic success. Back home, his paintings attracted attention from the first time he exhibited in mixed shows, especially at the City Art Gallery. His employers, Pirelli General were lucky enough to be able to call on his talents as a cartoonist for their house magazine Cable. Though never out of a job, he considered work an interruption to the true business of life, which was the pursuit of creativity. Although his drawing is assured, he had to learn, and to struggle for over a decade, to become a painter. Almost until his final year, his ‘paintings’ were really coloured drawings. Many of his works feature the Swaythling houses, other distinctive buildings and open spaces from his home patch. Initially, these were quite reality-based [see above] but, as his vision matured, he began to create fantasy landscapes, implanting other (usually actual) buildings into invented layouts of the Flower Roads housing [see right: a Swaythling corner house is sited next to the passenger shelter from one side of the old Floating Bridge slipways; between them is the clock tower from the opposite landing (or, possibly, abstracted from Bitterne Triangle’s). All these may be on the end of Hythe Pier, or Town Quay, or an imagined landing-stage]. “The First” Gallery owns a substantial part of his oeuvre including a few of his later, most individual, works. It is gradually selling those surplus to the requirement of keeping a representative collection in accessible places, through a series of exhibitions (where you may also view the ones it is keeping).
	Southampton City Art Gallery holds over half a dozen Meadus line drawings and some three dozen paintings, including recent bequests. They show these as occasion and space permit. Meadus’ earliest one-man exhibition at “The First” was in May 1984 (the Gallery, as a full-time, open-by-appointment venture was launched on the back of it; his input into the first two tiny Xmas shows in 1968 & ’69 planted the seed from which the whole thing started). After a later show, in Spring ’96, a permanent Meadus Alcove was set up. There are now five large Meadus collections, including private ones in Ireland and Brighton. “The First”s aim is to build Eric Meadus’ posthumous reputation until he is as well-known as he deserved, and to disperse a majority of his work onto the walls of art-lovers everywhere, so that it may be enjoyed as he intended. These few words hardly scratch the surface of Meadus’ multi-faceted aesthetic concerns, which encompassed music, writing, designing educational games, and – briefly – carving.

Eric Meadus (1931 – 70)

Back to Eric Meadus 2011 Show