Paul Mount Recent Work, Exhibition Catalogue

Paul Mount: Recent Work, Exhibition Catalogue

An exhibition at the New Art Centre, 41 Sloane Street, London.

1st October – 25th October 1980

Paul Mount was born in Devon in 1922 and studied painting at the Royal College of Art. In 1955, he went to Nigeria to direct the art department of the Yaba Technical Institute, and it was primarily the impact of African carving—masks, heads, and figures in wood and stone—that carried him from painting into sculpture. For several years, he worked chiefly in fibreglass or concrete, completing a number of important commissions in close relation to architecture—an association he continued to enjoy. Since 1982, when he returned to England, he had his own studio as a freelance sculptor in Cornwall.

Iron, steel, and bronze—the materials he feels most at home with—are all represented in his work of the 1970s. Each has its own qualities, making different demands and offering unique opportunities.

"The first impression for someone encountering his work is likely to be one of versatility. Discovering the underlying unity of his art takes a little longer."

We have acquired this book from the estate of Mollie and Graham Dark.

Mollie & Graham met in Wimbledon in 1978. He, a Cornishman, born in Gulval in 1930, acquired an early appreciation of art visiting Newlyn Gallery with his family. In his early career Graham worked in London writing for the Daily Express and he was responsible for one of the first Arts columns in a tabloid paper, but in 1960 he opened an antique shop in Chelsea.

Inspired by trips to Italy, he displayed early furniture and antiquities in an uncluttered modern setting, a technique he later utilised in his own home. The Darks moved back to Cornwall in 1980 and at their home in Flushing, and later Truro, curated an impressive body of art and antiquities with a particular focus on Cornish artists such as Paul Feiler and Terry Frost, who both became close friends.

The paintings were displayed alongside mid-century modern designer furniture by Eames, Bertoia and Magistretti, and arrangements of antiquities, thought of as 'ensembles' by Graham. Warm, charming, and generous hosts, they entertained their artistic circle of friends in their exquisitely arranged home, and it is a privilege for us to handle their beautiful possessions today.