A BOOK exploring the life and legacy of a renowned Gwent artist will be discussed at an exhibition event this month.

The body of Roger Cecil, 72, made the headlines in 2015 when his body was found in a field near Cwmbran on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 after he was reported missing from the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport.

Following a police appeal and search, the Abertillery man – who suffered from dementia – was found, with a subsequent inquest revealing he died of hypothermia.

On Saturday, June 10, Abertillery and District Museum will welcome author Dr Peter Wakelin, former director of collections and research at the National Museum Wales, who will give an illustrated talk on the man he describes as “one of the greatest painters Wales had produced”.

The writer will discuss his biography on the artist, Roger Cecil: A Secret Artist, which was published on April 20 this year. Mr Cecil was born in Abertillery in 1942 and painted for more than four decades, much of it in the house where he was born and brought up. His abstract work has been described as “rich in imagery, poetry and colour” and “inspired by the Valleys’ landscape”. Dr Wakelin describes Roger Cecil as an “artist outside the mainstream” who “worked as a casual labourer in order to paint on his own and without influence”.

“Although to many his art was completely unknown, fellow artists and enthusiastic collectors hugely admired it, not just in Wales but in London, where he showed quietly in commercial galleries from the late 1980s onwards,” he said.

Mr Cecil studied fine art at Newport College of Art and briefly went on to the Royal College of Art. However, he left after just a few weeks to take up manual work in opencast mines and building sites, and several decades before completing a masters degree at St Martin’s College of Art, in London.

His work is currently being exhibited in the Moma Machynlleth gallery in Powys until June 24.

Referring to reports of his tragic death, Dr Wakelin added: “None of the initial publicity mentioned that Roger Cecil was an artist, but it soon became apparent that this was one of the greatest painters Wales had produced. The reputation of Roger Cecil’s mesmerising art can only grow as his legacy is revealed.”

The event will start at 11.30am at Abertillery Museum and some of Mr Cecil’s Roger’s original paintings will be on show. Entry is £3.

Another event will take place in Abergavenny’s Arts Shop and Chapel on June 14, with artists and curators sharing their memories of Mr Cecil.

Visit abertilleryanddis trictmuseum.org.uk