{"product_id":"anthony-curtis-large-scale-sketch","title":"Anthony Curtis, Visual Fragment 90, Oil on board, (1953\/54) British","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtist:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Anthony Curtis (1928-2018)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTitle:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Visual Fragment 90\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDate:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 1953\/54\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMedium:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Oil on board\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 100 x 108 cm\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDetails:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Signed, titled and dated on the reverse. London Group 1956 exhibition sticker on reverse.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOriginal Oil Painting on Board | British Modern Art\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat I particularly love about this large scale oil painting by Anthony Curtis is its raw, almost unfinished quality. Curtis has left his pencil marks, measurements and working lines visible, while some areas remain unresolved. There's something wonderfully immediate about being able to see the artist's thought process, with his adjustments and experiments still present in the finished work.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePainted in 1953\/54, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVisual Fragment 90\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e belongs to an interesting period in British art, when a younger generation of painters was beginning to move away from traditional representation towards abstraction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBorn in Wakefield, Yorkshire, in 1928, Curtis studied at Loughborough College before attending Bath Academy of Art at Corsham, where his teachers included William Scott, Kenneth Armitage and Peter Potworowski. Corsham was an extraordinary place to study in the early 1950s, bringing together practising artists who were actively shaping the direction of postwar British art.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOne particularly fascinating detail survives from Curtis's student years. In 1951, William Scott made a drawing directly into Curtis's sketchbook during a class, demonstrating how he approached landscape form. The drawing, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbstract Landscape\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, remained in Curtis's collection and was subsequently sold at auction. It's a rare and rather personal glimpse into the relationship between the two artists.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCurtis also developed connections with the St Ives artists in Cornwall, particularly Terry Frost and Peter Lanyon, whom he visited and painted alongside. Their interest in landscape, structure and movement was an important influence on his early work.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlthough primarily remembered as an abstract painter, Curtis also worked in ceramics early in his career and explored stained glass. In 1960-61, his work was included in the Arts Council's touring exhibition \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eModern Stained Glass\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, an interesting indication of the breadth of his artistic interests.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHis career was already gaining recognition during the 1950s. In 1955 he was selected for the Daily Express Young Artists' Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries in London, and in 1957 he appeared in Jack Beddington's book \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYoung Artists of Promise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. His first solo exhibition followed at the Bear Lane Gallery in Oxford in 1959.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVisual Fragment 90\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e retains a London Group exhibition sticker dated 1956 on the reverse, a particularly interesting connection to the British art scene of the period.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCurtis continued painting throughout his life, alongside a career in art education, and was eventually elected to the Royal West of England Academy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"a fold of chairs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":60328640348544,"sku":null,"price":3500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/3093\/files\/DSC09880-3906.jpg?v=1793886936","url":"https:\/\/www.afoldofchairs.com\/products\/anthony-curtis-large-scale-sketch","provider":"a fold of chairs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}