Desmond Morris, Surrealist painter and zoologist, dies at 98

Desmond Morris, the last surviving Surrealist and renowned zoologist, died on 19 April 2026 in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, at age 98. Born in Wiltshire on 24 January 1928, he discovered Surrealism at 16 through a library book and joined the Birmingham Surrealists while studying zoology at the University of Birmingham. He later earned a doctorate in animal behaviour at Oxford, where he studied ape art, notably teaching the chimpanzee Congo to draw and paint. Morris authored 'The Biology of Art' and exhibited Congo's works at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1957, with pieces acquired by Pablo Picasso, Roland Penrose, and the Duke of Edinburgh. He also created Surrealist films, wrote the bestseller 'The Naked Ape' (1967), and presented 'Zoo Time' on TV from 1956 to 1967. In 2022, he co-founded the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Visual Arts (DIVA) in Ireland, housing his paintings alongside works by Miró, Leonor Fini, and Congo. Over 80 years, he produced more than 3,000 paintings, often working until 4am.