Terry Frost, Scolar Press 1994 - Hardback

This stunning and comprehensive book presents the life and work of the painter Terry Frost. It is a rich and diverse mixture of his own thoughts and writings about art and life, the history of his five decades of productive work as a painter, and reflections on the particular qualities of his art.

The texts are woven together in a personal narrative by David Lewis, friend of the artist for many years and leading authority on the St Ives artists. They include Frost's own musings, letters and poems as well as essays by the painter Adrian Heath, by David Archer on the prints, Ronnie Duncan on the years in Leeds, and Linda Saunders on the Lorca Portfolio. There is also a photo-essay by Roger Mayne. The art historian Elizabeth Knowles (formerly a curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Tate Gallery) has edited the book which not only documents his works but also presents a vivid picture of Terry Frost as a painter and teacher. Terry Frost captures something of the full vigour of the artist's personality, his trenchant views on art and abstraction, and its scrap-book' character both illustrates the development of his career and documents the essentials of being a painter.

Dimensions 29 x 29 cm

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.

Graham Dark 1930-2015, Mollie Dark 1928-2024