Edward Seago was one of Britain's finest twentieth-century Impressionist painters. He was born in Norwich in 1910, the son of a local coal merchant. He studied at the Royal Drawing Society and won an award at the age of 14. Although Seago was largely self-taught, he did receive some instruction from Bertram Priestman. Seago was involved in the publication of many books throughout his career. In 1934 he published a book entitled Sons of Sawdust which told of circus life in the West of Ireland. He also published Peace in War (1943), High Endeavour (1944), With The Allied Armies in Italy (1945) and his autobiography A Canvas to Cover (1947).
In 1936, some 42 of his paintings were used to accompany John Masefield's collection of poems, The Country Scene and he worked with Masefield again on Tribute to Ballet in 1937 and Generation Risen (1942). During the Second World War Seago served with the Royal Engineers and often painted in Italy with Field-Marshall Lord Alexander. His war pictures were exhibited in 1946 at the Norwich and Bristol Municipal Galleries and other works have been shown at the Royal Academy, the Royal Watercolour Society, the Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Royal Western Academy and the Paris Salon.
