Haddelsey (1929-2010) is regarded as a quintessentially English artist, his most well-known work revolving around scenes from the English countryside: hunting, polo, racing and so on. He was born in 1929 and comes from a family of lawyers: his father, grandfather and great-grandfather all worked in the legal profession. His two grandmothers however were gifted painters.
Haddelsey went to school at Ampleforth in Yorkshire. He was a self-taught artist, which may contribute towards his naive style.
In 1965, Haddelsey travelled to Mexico where he intended to paint members of the Charros tribe. He took part in a rodeo and was as a result invited to become the member of a Mexican association of elite horsemen. In 1969, he won the Great Prize of Lugano for his naive art. In 1980, Vincent Haddelsey went on a journey to Inner Mongolia, where he studied and painted the Mongolian Pony. Various paintings resulted from this trip.