Artist Database

Cecil Rochfort D'Oyly-John (sometimes unhyphenated) was born in Germiston in 1906 and raised in Durban. He was adventurous and travelled the world, taking various jobs like working on a Japanese tramp steamer, pearl fishing in Manila, and serving as a policeman in Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania). He joined the Military Police during World War II and was posted in locations in Africa and the Middle East. It was only while recuperating from being wounded by a bomb in 1945 that D’Oyly-John began to paint – a pastime suggested by his friend, the artist Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall. D’Oyly-John’s works were picked up by British art dealers Frost & Reed, who sold them as prints during the 1950s and 60s. His sun-drenched, brightly coloured landscapes of the Mediterranean and South of France were popular and originals can even be found in the Royal Collection, UK.