George Dannatt (1915-2009) - Shield Landscape, 1996

Shield Lanscape, 1966

Screenprint with ink and paint (mixed media) sigbed, titled and dated verso by the artist.  Edition 11/58

Image size: 12.4 × 18.7 cm

George Dannatt (1915-2009)  was a British abstract artist closely associated with the St Ives movement and the development of post-war British abstraction. Unusually, he came to painting through several other careers. He trained as a chartered surveyor in his father's practice and later worked as a music critic, experiences that informed the strong sense of structure, rhythm and balance that would become characteristic of his work.

A pivotal moment came in 1955 when his brother, the architect Trevor Dannatt, introduced him to the painter Adrian Heath. Through Heath, Dannatt became part of an influential circle of artists that included Patrick Heron, Terry Frost, John Wells, Denis Mitchell and Alexander Mackenzie. He would go on to become a member of both the Penwith Society and the Newlyn Society, establishing himself as an important figure within the St Ives artistic community.

Drawing inspiration from both landscape and abstraction, Dannatt developed a visual language built around carefully considered relationships between line, form and space. His background in surveying is often reflected in the precision of his compositions, while his lifelong interest in music can be sensed in the rhythm and movement of his work.

Shield Landscape is a mixed-media work combining screenprint with hand-applied ink and paint. The composition demonstrates Dannatt’s mature style, in which simplified geometric forms are set within a restrained landscape

inspired setting. The artist has signed, titled and dated the work verso, together with a note describing the medium as “screen print + ink & paint (mixed media)”.

The reverse also retains the original label from Dannatt’s studio at East Hatch, Tisbury, Wiltshire, providing direct provenance to the artist.

Condition

In very good condition. Presented in a painted frame and under glass. The reverse retains the artist’s inscription and studio label.

Alongside his own artistic practice, Dannatt and his wife Ann assembled one of the most important private collections of St Ives and post-war British art. Built through friendships with many of the leading artists of the period, the collection was later gifted to Pallant House Gallery, where it remains an important record of twentieth-century British abstraction.

Condition: In very good condition. Presented in its original silver frame. There is a small scratch to the lower left-hand side of the frame.