John Cecil Stephenson was born in 1889. A skilled musician himself throughout his life, Stephenson sought to find visual equivalents for musical forms. Commenting on the 1960 Drian Gallery Exhibition, which comprised 22 works by Stephenson from the late 1950s, Herbert Read spoke of the 'freshness and vitality' of these later works noting that 'the vicissitudes of the art world are such that it is possible for an artist of great talent to work for a lifetime in obscurity, and only towards the end of his career find the recognition that is due to him'. Stephenson made his first abstract paintings around 1932. In 1934 he exhibited with the 7 & 5 Society, along with Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth ...