Desmond Morris

For the Australian rugby league footballer, coach and administrator, see Des Morris.

Desmond Morris
Desmond Morris
Born	Desmond John Morris (1928-01-24) 24 January 1928 Purton, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Occupation	Zoologist and ethologist

Desmond John Morris, FZS (born 24 January 1928) is an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology.

Early life

Born on 24 January 1928 in Purton, Wiltshire, Desmond John Morris is the son of Marjorie and the children’s fiction author Harry Morris. In 1933 Desmond Morris moved to the nearby town of Swindon, which remained his primary home up until 1951. It was during this time in Swindon that Morris began to develop a strong interest in the likes of both natural history and writing. In 1941 Morris attended Dauntsey’s co-educational boarding school for 11-18-year-olds on the northern edge of the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. It was during this time away at school that Morris’s passion for both zoology and the modern visual arts began to intensify and come to surface. Five years later, in 1946, Morris was conscripted into the army for two years of national service. During this time, he became a lecturer in fine arts at the Chisledon Army College. Morris also within this time began to take painting seriously. He was demobilized from the army in 1948, and that year he held his first one-man showing of his own paintings at the Swindon Arts Center in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Pursuing his interests immediately, that Autumn he enrolled into the Zoology Department as an undergraduate at the University of Birmingham as well. Shortly thereafter, Morris graduated earning a First Class Honours Degree in Zoology. Further moving on in 1951 to the Oxford University Zoology department to begin his research into animal behaviour for his doctorate degree, mainly basing his studies on reproductive communication systems. In 1954 he earned a Doctor of Philosophy for his research and works leading to his doctoral thesis regarding the Reproductive Behaviour of the Ten-spined Stickleback.

Sociobiology

After receiving his doctoral degree from Oxford University, Morris continued on post-doctorally at Oxford University conducting research on the reproductive behavior of birds. After some time elapsed, including Morris’s move to London in 1956, he thence began a research project into the picture making abilities of apes. The following year of ’57 he organizes an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, all of paintings and drawings composed by chimpanzees. Later, in 1958 he co-organizes an interesting exhibition of which compared pictures made by the likes of infants, human adults, as well as apes. The event was called The Lost Image, it was held at the Royal Festival Hall in London. After assuming the position of Curator in 1959, Desmond’s upcoming years begin to fill with strings and strings of books to be released on the topics of animal behavior, art, many centering on the topic of human behavior, as well as comparisons to primates; viewing humanity as revolutionized from the hunter-gather to the city dweller. Morris Continues on publishing books covering infant behavior watching, as well as man watching, and watchings of various types of animals such as cats and dogs.

Morris' works are published almost world wide. His first book that concerned actual human behavior was published in 1967 titled The Naked Ape a Zoologists study of the Human as an revolutionized animal, of which gained more success than what had been anticipated. Following its success, in 1968 Morris moves to the Mediterranean island of Malta in order to focus on preparing a sequel as well as freely painting and other activities. Shortly thereafter, with books still continuously being published, in 1971 he opened his research headquarters in Malta. Specifically, in order to conduct research towards producing an encyclopedia of all human actions, more specifically, to classify all human action-patterns. However, in 1973 Desmond left Malta returning to work for the Nobel Prize winner Niko Tinbergen, in his research group studying animal behavior, with the department of Zoology at Oxford University.

After some time elapses filled with more book publications flowing alongside various other attributes of Morris's careers, in 1982 he begins to look into archaeological researches for a new, slightly different book The Art of Ancient Cyprus. As creative minds wonder, Morris later the following year publishes a quite interesting Book of Ages, a year-by-year account of human life from birth to death. Finishing The Art of Ancient Cyprus the next year, 1984, published 85. Desmond’s following research project was conducted in 1988, respectively on the colors used in decorating human homes. The findings and data were brought together that same year within a report called Nestbuilders. Throughout his entire career Desmond Morris has written almost countless books continuously on the observations of life, humans, animals, and even paintings as well as children's books on the matters. Despite all of his other interests, the majority of his books took place under the category of sociobiology.

Art

In 1948 Desmond Morris made his first one man debut showing of his artwork (paintings) at the Swindon Art Centre in Wiltshire, England. A short two years later in 1950, he emerges into the surrealist art scene at the London Gallery. For the first time at an event held by the Belgian Surrealist Edouard Mesen's. Interesting to note, the event was also held with Joan Miró. The following year of 1951, Desmond travels to Belgium to exhibit his paintings at an international art festival. His next art showing wasn’t until 1957 whence he organizes a chimpanzee paintings and drawings exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (a result of his research study into the drawing abilities of apes). In the spring of 1967 upon release of Morris’s first Human behavioral book, he also resigned from his post of Curator held at The London Zoo, and thence became executive director of the London Institute of Contemporary Arts for only a year, until '68 with the release of The Naked Ape, thus sending Morris on an over twenty-year hiatus from the arts world, while his sociobiology career takes the front seat.

In 1974, shortly after returning from his span painting, studying, and writing in Malta, Southern Europe, Desmond held his first exhibition of his surrealist paintings since before the take off his career in other areas. The showing was held at the Stooshnoff Fine Art Gallery located in back in London. Returning with vengeance, two years later in 1976 Desmond holds 4 more exhibits of paintings, including an exhibit beholding 61 works of his from over 30 years- held at the Public Art Gallery in his once home of Swindon, Wiltshire. Desmond’s next accomplishment in the area of arts is in 1987 when he combines his two passions of writing and art, to create and publish his first book about his surrealist paintings called The Secret Surrealist, introduction by Phillip Oakes. His first showing of paintings after the books release was held the following year in New York at the Shippee Gallery in New York. Desmond continues his showings to this day, with his works being documented and recognized officially by his biographer Silvano Levy in ‘Desmond Morris: 50 Years of Surrealism in 1997. Morris has since then traveled showing his art exhibits around the world, from his home in England branching throughout Europe. Including in 2005 a solo exhibit of paintings by apes from his earlier studies in the 50’s, the exhibit was called “Ape Artists of the 1950’s” and was held at the Mayor Gallery in London, England.

Solo Art Showings
Swindon Art Centre	Swindon	1948
London Gallery	London	1950
Ashmolean Museum	Oxford	1952
Stooshnoff Fine Art	London	1974
Quasrangle Gallery	Oxford	1976
Wolfson College	Oxford	1976
Lasson Gallery	London	1976
Public Art Gallery	Swindon	1977
Galerie d'Eendt	Amsterdam	1978
Mayor Gallery	London	1987
Shipee Gallery	New York	1988
Keats Gallery	Knokkle-le-Zoute	1988
Mayor Gallery	London	1989
Mayor Gallery	London	1991
Galerie Michele Heyraud	Paris	1991
Public Art Galley	Swindon	1993
Mayor Gallery	London	1994
Public Art Galleries	Stoke and Nottingham	1996
Mayor Gallery	London	1997
Charleston Gallery	Sussex	1997
Public Art Gallery	Buxton	1997
Clayton Gallery	Newcastle	1998
Keitelman Gallery	Brussels	1998
Rossaert Gallery	Antwerp	1998
Witteveen Gallery	Amsterdam	1999

Television and film

In 1950 Desmond Morris makes his first entrance into the film and television. Writing and directing two Surrealist Films entitled Time Flower, as well as The Butterfly and the Pin. His next officially noted stop in television was in 1956 when he moved to London in order to assume the position at the Zoological Society of London as Head of the Granada TV and Film Unit. Morris’s job thus included creating programs for both film and television on the topic of animal behavior and other various zoology orientated topics. His job remained as a host for Granada TV’s weekly ‘Zoo time’ program for the following three years up until 1959. During his time period of this position, a total of eight years, Morris scripted and hosted a total of ~500 Zoo Time programs, alongside ~100 episodes of the show Life in the Animal World for BBC2. During this time he also dabbles into radio for BBC on topics of natural History. However, he left the Film & TV unit at the London Zoo in honor to become the Zoological Society’s Curator of Mammals (1959).

After a long break from the world of television, Desmond re-enters the game in 1979 undertaking a new television series for Thames TV. The series was called The Human Race, of course focusing on the matter of human behavior. The shows filming ran on schedule and was presented on television in 1982, later the series was shown in many other countries as well. That same year, Desmond traveled to Japan for another television expedite to make a production titled ‘Man watching in Japan,‘ of which was shone on Japan Television in that autumn of 1982. After another short intermission, in 1986 Desmond started working on yet another new TV series (co-presented by British TV Broadcaster Sarah Kennedy) which was called ‘The Animals Road Show.‘ The show totaled with 40 programs made over the following next three years, as well as a book published on the series within that time frame. One the shows second year airing, Desmond began filming another TV series that was called ‘The Animal Contract, the show aired for Australian television, wrapping up in 1989. Although ‘The Animal Road Show‘ ended in 1989 also, Morris and Kennedy reunited in 1992 to show a second series of exactly fourteen half of an hour episodes. This was followed by a third series the following year in 1993, with thirteen half of an hour programs. As well as, this was followed by a fourth series in 1994, and final fifth in 1995, all with Sarah Kennedy. In 1994, Desmond also writes then presents a series of six on-hour TV episodes for BBC-1, the was called The Human Animal. This series went on to win the Cable Ace Award in Los Angeles for best documentary series in 1995. The following year is when Morris began to work on ‘The Human Sexes,‘ a new sequel TV series to The Human Animal, which is completed in 1997.

Filmography

• Zootime (Weekly, 1956–67)
• Life (1965–67)
• The Human Race (1982)
• The Animals Roadshow (1987–89)
• The Animal Contract (1989)
• Animal Country (1991–96)
• The Human Animal (1994)
• The Human Sexes (1997)

Lectures

In 1964 he was invited to deliver the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on Animal Behaviour.

Bibliography

• The Biology of Art (1963) – a look at the paintings of primates and their relation to human art
• The Mammals: A Guide to the Living Species (1965) — a comprehensive and compelling listing of all mammal genera, all non-rodent non-bat species, and additional information on select species.
• The Naked Ape (1967) — an unabashed look at the human species. The book is notable for its focus on humanity's animalistic qualities and our similarity with other apes. Reprinted many times and in many languages, it continues to be a best-seller.
• The Human Zoo (1969) — a continuation of the previous book, analysing human behaviour in big modern societies and their resemblance to animal behaviour in captivity.
• Intimate Behaviour (1971) — In "Intimate Behaviour" Morris studies the human side of intimate behaviour from clapping to cutting hair, from the embrace to copulation. Morris examines how natural selection shaped human physical contact in and how intimate behaviours are expressed and/or repressed in modern culture. Morris explains the origins of complex and mundane human signaling and body contact relating much of it to the pre-natal condition in the womb and the experience of the protection and attention that children receive when young and helpless. Morris infers that most intimate contact is a variation or repetition of such comforting and secure contact which is expressed in thinly disguised forms from pats on the back to massage "therapy". Morris describes an increasingly rigid modern society empty of typical physical interaction in public and how people compensate by enacting intimate behaviour in other forms in private or through deviant behaviour in public.
• . (1978. First published 1977), Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behaviour, St Albans, Hertsfordshire, UK: Triad/Panther Books, ISBN 0-586-04887-1  Reprinted 2002 by Vintage as Peoplewatching. ISBN 978-0-09-942978-4 
• Gestures: Their Origin and Distribution (1979)
• Animal Days (1979) — Autobiographical
• The Soccer Tribe (1981)
• Pocket Guide to Manwatching (1982)
• Inrock (1983)
• Bodywatching – A Field Guide to the Human Species (1985) — Hundreds of photos analyzing the human body from hair down to the feet.
• Catwatching: & Cat Lore (1986) — a study of one of the most popular of household pets across the centuries.
• Dogwatching (1986) — an in-depth study of "man's best friend".
• Horsewatching (1989) — subtitled "Why does a horse whinny and everything else you ever wanted to know"
• Animalwatching (1990)
• Babywatching (1991)
• The Human Animal (1994) — book and BBC documentary TV series
• The Human Sexes (1997) — Discovery/BBC documentary TV series
• Cat World: A Feline Encyclopedia (1997)
• The Naked Eye (2001)
• Dogs: The Ultimate Dictionary of over 1000 Dog Breeds (2001)
• Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language (2002)
• The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body (2004)
• Linguaggio muto (Dumb language) (2004)
• The Nature of Happiness (2004)
• Watching (2006)
• The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body (2008)
• Baby: A Portrait of the First Two Years of Life (2008)
• Planet Ape (2009)
• Owl (2009)

Major events

• In 1951 upon moving his Studies to Oxford University, Desmond studied under Dr. Nikolaas Tinbergen, a Dutch ethologist and ornithologist, who in 1973 shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with two other intellectuals for their discoveries.

• Holds one man art showing at the world’s first university museum (Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology) in 1952, in Oxford

• In 1952 the journal Behavior, published Morris’s first scientific paper on animal behavior. He produced 47 more over the next fifteen years.

• Awarded Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil) in 1954 by Oxford University, his thesis on the "Reproductive Behaviour of the Ten-spined Stickleback".

• First scientific book published in 1958: The Reproductive Behavior of the Ten-spined Stickleback as well as a children’s book titled The Story of Congo.

• In 1983, Desmond Published his first fiction novel, called Inrock (science fiction, fantasy), reflective of the surrealist world he created within his paintings. Said to be primarily aimed towards children, but not entirely.

• In 1992 Desmond held his first one man showing of his paintings in Paris, France.

• In 1996 a exhibition titled “Desmond Morris 50 Years of Surrealism” was held at both Stoke Gallery, and then second Nottingham Public Gallery. Followed by a solo exhibit at Mayor Gallery in 1997 to coincide with Desmond's official biographer Silvano Levy’s book entitled Desmond Morris: 50 Years of Surrealism.

• In 1998 Desmond Morris is awarded Honors Doctor of Science by the University of Reading, located in the English town Reading, Berkshire.

Personal life

When Desmond was 14, his father passed away in the military. Desmond ever since then claims, as noted from a 2008 interview, “It was the beginning of a life long hatred of the establishment. The church, the government and the military were all on my hate list and have remained there ever since.” As said in another interview, Desmond’s reasoning behind drifting towards the surrealist subculture is rather profound. In a time living as a child in the Great War, and then losing his father to the repercussions of that violence, an inner urge for rebellion against authority struck Morris.

With the coming of surrealism starting in the 1920s as a rebellion against The horrendous natures of The Great War, these ideas fit Desmond’s current mindset quite perfectly. Enabling him to create his own world for himself within his paintings. Painting he proclaims is his own personal pleasure, not business. So his rebellion ended up coming forth in other ways, more positive ways, not just within his paintings but within his desire to share knowledge throughout over 79 publications with the world. Not wanting to cause grief for anyone in other aspects (due to his prior grief), he decided to aim his energies in these more positive directions such as writing evolutionarily beneficial works. And so he did, as seen through his life accomplishments, or entire lists of works. Desmond's Grandfather William Morris, a very enthusiastic Victorian Naturalist is noted to have played a great influence on Desmond during his time period living in Swindon. Interesting to note, William Morris founded the Swindon local Newspaper.

In July 1952, Morris married Ramona Baulch, a history graduate from Oxford. Both only children, the two conceived their only son Jason in Malta, a country in Southern Europe. This occurred in 1968 following the success of The Naked Ape. In 1978 Desmond was elected Vice-Chairman of the Oxford United Football Club. Interesting to note, later in 1981 Morris publishes The Soccer Tribe, analysis regarding the world of professional football, or rather soccer, to Canadians and Americans. In the same year Silvano Levy’s 50 Years of Surrealism is published, 1997, Desmond’s son marries Annie Reeves, and their daughter Matilda is born. Followed by another granddaughter to Morris in 2000, named Madeline, and another in 2003 named Annabelle, as well as a grandson in 2004 named Evan.

Morris is an avid traveller; in 1998 he made a three-month journey around world, traveling to research new books and TV series to 21 different countries. This expedition was followed by another in 2001, this time taking off on a round the word trip with his Wife Ramona, visiting 23 different countries this time around. In 2003, Desmond sets off on yet another journey around the world for three months, this time visiting the Far East, Asia, The Mediterranean, the Middle East, as well as the Caribbean, Central American, North America, and Australasia. Three years later in 2006, Desmond made another three-month journey around the world, traveling this time to the Middle East, Far East, as well as Africa and Australia. Morris continues to travel throughout the years until the present, with his last venture to Alaska to study the Northwest Indian and Eskimo arts. Desmond reflects in an interview unknown to Wikipedia with the following quote that happens to close the ending chapters of Morris's life quite appropriately: “ I also carried my message - about how fascinating animal behavior and human behavior can be - to an even wider audience by making television programs, and presented a total of about 700 programs over a period of half a century. I have now stopped that work and I am devoting my final years to the three things I enjoy most; writing books, painting pictures and traveling the world. I have so far managed to visit 95 countries and I have a schoolboy ambition to make that 100 countries before I die.”

See also

• Sociobiology
• Sexual selection in human evolution

External links

• Official website including a complete biography
• Works by or about Desmond Morris in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Desmond Morris at the Internet Movie Database