Anthony Curtis (1928-2018)
Circular Variations, 1972
gouache with screenprint
signed and inscribed in pencil
This piece of art is unframed.
Dimensions 46 x 59cm
Anthony Curtis originally created the screen print for this piece of work in 1972, then spent time in May 2006 overpainting with gouache.
Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Anthony Curtis was a pivotal figure in the post-war British art scene. His formal studies began at Loughborough College and continued at the renowned Bath Academy of Arts in Corsham, where he immersed himself in the vibrant artistic community of the early 1950s. Under the tutelage of prominent 20th-century artists such as Terry Frost, Bryan Wynter, Peter Lanyon, and Kenneth Armitage, Curtis’s creative vision began to take shape.
In 1957, Curtis's work garnered national attention with his inclusion in the Daily Express Young Artists’ Exhibition, and he was further celebrated as one of Jack Beddington’s Young Artists of Promise. By 1959, he was holding solo exhibitions at the Bear Lane Gallery in Oxford, where his unique voice emerged within the contemporary art landscape.
The works on display are drawn from Curtis’s personal estate, with a focus on his output from the 1950s and 60s. These pieces, rich in texture and movement, reflect the profound influence of his St Ives mentors. Many were conceived during his regular visits to Cornwall, where he frequently visited and painted alongside Terry Frost and Peter Lanyon, capturing the dynamic spirit of the era’s artistic experimentation.