Obituary Mr Cecil Manson

Press, 17 June 1987, Page 26

Obituary Mr Cecil Manson

PA ■ V Wellington A leading literary and artistic figure and historian, Mr Cecil Manson, has died. He was 91. He and his wife, Celia, of Wellington, are known for their contribution to art and literature in New Zealand.

Together they founded the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship allowing New Zealand writers to work in the house Katherine Mansfield used in Menton in the South of France. The Mansons have also written more than 12 books about New Zealand’s history. ■ Their son, Mr Hugo Manson, a freelance journalist, said his parents wanted to “humanise” this country’s history through their books/ Mr Manson was born in London. He studied at the Grosvenor School of Art, London, the New York Metropolitan School of Art, and the Academic Julian, in Party

He served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and was involved in the Gallipoli campaign. During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force intelligence section.

He married his New Zealand-born wife, Celia, six months before the outbreak of World War 11. Mrs Manson wrote broadcast talks for the British Broadcasting Corporation. The family moved to New Zealand in 1947. Mr Manson, who trained as a photographer in London, set up a portrait studio in Nelson. He became a prominent freelance journalist and broadcaster. He was also a distinguished artist and exhibited in the Paris Salon and the Royal British Exhibition.

The Molesworth Gallery in Wellington held a retrospective exhibition of 39 paintings as a tribute to him in February this year. ;