Bernard Kay

Cosmos - British Fifties Abstract Expressionist art oil painting red white blue

1957

An original oil on canvas by noted Scottish artist William Gear which dates to 1981. Entitled early Spring it is a vibrant and fresh art work with lovely colouring. Signed, dated and titled verso. Provenance. William Gear estate. Royal Birmingham Society of Artists 1981. Condition. Oil on canvas, 48 inches by 32 inches. Excellent condition. William Gear (1915-1997). Few British painters have played an active role in the modern abstract movement of post-war Europe. William Gear was the most passionate and committed exception. He continued the tradition of the Edinburgh-Paris axis established by J.D. Fergusson, Samuel Peploe and others, spending vital years between 1947 and 1950 living and working in Paris. Significantly, in recent years, he received the greatest acclaim in France, Germany and the Netherlands. He was born in 1915 in Methil, Fife, into a mining family; the particular landscape of "pitheads, the sea, rocks, castles, trees, storms and poverty" marked his earliest identity with a place and probably remained the most influential to his art. Years later he recalled as a schoolboy visiting the local art gallery in Kirkcaldy and seeing 12 colourful still-lifes by Peploe. Art-history lessons during student years at Edinburgh College of Art, in particular Byzantine classes under David Talbot Rice, also influenced his concern for structure. This had as much to do with the formal language of painting as sheer delight in the medium itself. Gear never missed an opportunity to show people the merits of a well-constructed painting. On a travelling scholarship in 1937, he chose to study with Fernand Leger, described by Gear as "a keystone for me, seldom abstract, rather a degree of abstraction". The Second World War interrupted these formative years and, by 1940, Gear had joined the Royal Corps of Signals. Dispatched to the Middle East, he still had the discipline to paint - mostly works on paper of damaged landscapes - with exhibitions in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo as well as Siena and Florence. His naturally robust and tenacious temperament was profoundly affected by visiting Bergen-Belsen, and this certainly influenced the later experiments with the black armature. As the British officer in Celle, working for the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Control Commission, he focused on securing the safety of the Berlin Art Collection in Schloss Celle, and organised an important series of modern art exhibitions, including the rejected work of Karl Otto Gotz...

This striking Abstract Expressionist oil painting is by noted Scottish artist Iain Robertson. Entitled Sunset verso, it was painted in 2006 after Robertson had moved to Cornwall to live and work. It is a superb example of Robertson's use of symbols in art and the bold use of orange with heavy impasto against the blue and white is fantastic. A really strong Abstract Expressionist art work by a sought after Scottish artist. Signed inscribed Sunset and dated 2006 verso. Provenance. Cornish estate. Condition. Oil on Canvas, 30 inches by 24 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a white surround frame, 32 inches by 26 inches and in good condition. Iain Robertson (b. 1955) was born in Cyprus but grew up in Edinburgh before studying art, 1978-1982. In 1993 he worked as Artist In Residence at Grizedale Sculpture Park before relocating to Cornwall where he now lives and works. He has retained studio 7 at Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, since 2007. Previously Robertson worked in Montgomery Street Studio, Edinburgh, 1991-1999. He has exhibited widely with numerous solo shows in the UK and Europe. His work is held in public and private collections in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, England, USA and Hong Kong. His work was included in the ‘Art Now Cornwall’ exhibition at TATE St Ives Spring 2007 and at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh, 2007. The recipient of a number of awards including Scottish Arts Council, British Council and Arts Council, Robertson was the first Scottish recipient of the Pollock Krasner Foundation, New York, in 1988. Notable exhibitions include, Contemporary Abstract Printmaking, Artists- Rachel Clark, Ian Davenport, Christopher Le Brun, John McLean, Mali Morris...

"Un Soir à Atakama" by Gérard Stricher (b. 1948) portrays the surreal beauty of the Atacama Desert at sunset. Stricher's vivid use of color and texture captures the ethereal quality ...

"Large Lilies Jute Square" is a still life painting with thickly applied lily flowers on a raw brown canvas and resin. Darius Yektai was born in Southampton NY, in 1973. He lives a...