Earliest known Syd Barrett painting to be auctioned

The earliest known painting by Pink Floyd founding member, the late Syd Barrett, is going under auction later this month.

The painting, a pastel and watercolour work entitled Dried Flowers (which you can see below) was painted by Barrett at his him in Cambridge in 1963. At the time he was studying at Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology. It was at the college that Barrett would meet David Gilmour, who would eventually replace him in Pink Floyd.

A year later Barrett enrolled at Camberwell College of Arts in London to study painting, and a year after that Barrett hooked back up with Roger Waters, with whom he'd attended Cambridgeshire High School For Boys (Waters mother had taught the younger Barrett at Morley Memorial Junior School), and moved into the now mythic Stanhope Gardens flat in Highgate.

Barrett joined the band Waters was in, who had been known as Sigma 6, The Abdabs, The Screaming Abdabs and Meggadeath, in 1965 when they were known as the Tea Set. Later that year they would change their name to Pink Floyd.

Barrett remained a keen artist later in life when he lived back in Cambridge, although he was known to destroy paintings after their completion.

Dried Flowers is currently owned by Carlisle resident Brian Wernham who originally purchased the painting via the 2006 Cheffins charity auction., with the money going to Syd's sister Rosemary Breen's charity in Cambridge after the death Syd in July 2006. Wernham has previously curated an exhibition of Syd Barrett’s work at the Ideas Generation Gallery.

The auction of Dried Flowers takes place at Thomson Roddick Callan’s auction of fine art in Carlisle on July 30. You can find further details here.

Artists

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.