Perhaps best known for his depictions of beaches and street scenes, Seago’s few, yet truly beautiful, still lifes are characterised by his typically restrained palette and a distinctly representational sentiment, akin to the work of John Singer Sergeant. Shunning more traditional priming techniques, Seago prepared his painting surface using a rather unique method: before beginning to paint he would create an impasto surface by mixing glue-based gesso and white paint, applied to the support using a stiff brush, a structured base that would better preserve the loose strokes of his painting.

Due to this unorthodoxy, Seago was often ignored by contemporary critics and never admitted to the Royal Academy, however, his huge popularity among the public lifted his status to that of a celebrity and his acclaim with the Royal family was legendary. Prince Philip took him on a tour of the Antarctic in 1956 and the Queen Mother bought so many of his works that he eventually starting giving her two a year, at Christmas and for her birthday. Despite his death in 1974, the Royal Family’s admiration for his work endured, evidenced by Queen Elizabeth II’s 2002 Bentley ‘State Limousine’ featuring a sculptural depiction of George and the dragon designed by Seago, instead of the traditional mascot.