Conroy Maddox
Conroy Maddox (27 December 1912 – 14 January 2005) was an English surrealist painter, collagist, writer and lecturer; and a key figure in the Birmingham Surrealist movement. He was born in Ledbury, Herefordshire, and discovered surrealism in 1935, spending the rest of his life exploring its potential through his paintings, collages, photographs, objects and texts. Inspired by artists such as Max Ernst, Óscar Domínguez and Salvador Dalí, he rejected academic painting in favour of techniques that expressed the surrealistic spirit of rebellion.
Also recorded as Conroy Ronald Maddox
Conroy Maddox
- Name
- Conroy Maddox
- Born
- 27 December 1912
- Birthplace
- Ledbury, Herefordshire, England
- Died
- 14 January 2005
- Place of death
- London, England
- Field
- Painting
- Movement
- Surrealism
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Occupation
- painter · writer · artist
- Fields
- painting · American painting · surrealism
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Conroy Maddox (27 December 1912 – 14 January 2005) was an English surrealist painter, collagist, writer and lecturer; and a key figure in the Birmingham Surrealist movement. He was born in Ledbury, Herefordshire, and discovered surrealism in 1935, spending the rest of his life exploring its potential through his paintings, collages, photographs, objects and texts. Inspired by artists such as Max Ernst, Óscar Domínguez and Salvador Dalí, he rejected academic painting in favour of techniques that expressed the surrealistic spirit of rebellion.
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wikidata · Q5162696 · wikipedia · Conroy Maddox
In this article
Biography
Biography
Maddox officially joined the British Surrealist Group in 1938. His creations soon began not only to challenge the conventional view of reality, but also to push pictorial expression to the limits of consciousness. He was even implicated in both scandal and controversy when, during World War II, Scotland Yard suspected him of fifth columnist sabotage and mounted a surprise raid to seize works thought to contain coded messages to the enemy. Following the war he moved to Balsall Heath and began his most active period. In 1948, he married Nan Burton. They had a daughter and a son together, but had the marriage dissolved in 1955. He died in London, aged 92.
The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is painting, American painting and surrealism. Work by Conroy Maddox is recorded in the collections of Tate, Israel Museum, Ferens Art Gallery, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Conroy Maddox • Born — 27 December 1912 • Birthplace — Ledbury, Herefordshire, England • Died — 14 January 2005 • Place of death — London, England • Field — Painting • Movement — Surrealism
Exhibitions
Exhibitions
• 1938 - Wertheim Gallery, London • 1940 - London Gallery, London • 1940 - Surrealism Today, Zwemmer Gallery, London • 1940 - Artists International Association • 1945 - Leicester Galleries, London • 1947 - International Surrealist Exhibition, Paris • 1949 - Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Galleries • 1949 - Bilston Corporation Art Gallery • 1951 - Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Galleries • 1963 - Grabowski Gallery, London • 1967 - Zwemmer Gallery, London • 1967 - Exeter City Gallery, Exeter • 1973 - Hamet Gallery, London • 1976 - Gouaches of the 1940s, Fischer Fine Art, London • 1978 - Surrealism Unlimited, Camden Arts Centre, London • 1982 - Peinture Surrealiste en Angleterre 1930-1960, Galerie 1900–2000, Paris • 1994 - Paintings and Objects, Gallery M, London • 2000 - Surrealism in Birmingham 1935-1955, Birmingham Museums • 2001 - Conroy Maddox. A Surrealist Odyssey, Belgrave Gallery, London
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1912
Conroy Maddox was born on 27 December 1912.
2005
Conroy Maddox died on 14 January 2005.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Ledbury.
Birth place
London.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5162696: Conroy Maddox
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Conroy Maddox”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Morris, Desmond (2018), The Lives of the Surrealists.
- 2.Balsall Heath Local History Society. Conroy Maddox: Surrealist artist in Varna Road.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Free Unions - Unions Libre - edited by Simon Watson Taylor and with cover by Conroy Maddox (1946)
- Dali by Conroy Maddox (Taschen)
References
Citations
References
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Conroy Maddox is recorded as a citizen of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Recorded with the occupation visual artist. Connected to 2 other published records in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
Within the Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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