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Douglas Portway
Abstract 1964 - South African sixties abstract art oil painting

1964

About the Item

This fantastic Sixties abstract oil painting on paper on canvas is by noted South African artist Douglas Portway. Although born in South Africa, as he became more successful, Portway travelled more, leaving South Africa for good in 1959 and settling in St Ives Cornwall in 1967. Indeed, the influences of the St Ives School artists can be seen in his work. This painting, entitled Abstract 1964, was painted whilst in Ibiza from 1959-66. It was exhibited in the Drian Gallery with which Portway has a long association. This large abstract work has a good compositional balance, harmonising tones and a lovely soft focus to it making it very pleasing to the eye. Portway was a loner, preferring to concentrate on his artistry and this is a good example of his work. Signed and dated lower right. Provenance. The artist. Drian Gallery, London, 1965 Private collection, UK. Condition. Oil on paper on canvas, 36 inches by 28 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a complementary frame, 43 inches by 35 inches and in good condition. Douglas Portway (1922-1993). Painter, draughtsman and designer, born in Johannesburg, South Africa, who had a poor, unsettled childhood. Became a window-dresser; drew in his spare time and attended art schools including Witwatersrand Technical Art School, 1943–4, but was dissatisfied with the instruction; for several years taught at Witwatersrand and at University of Johannesburg; and in 1945 had his first solo show at Constantia Gallery, Johannesburg. In 1948 Portway married art student Rosalind Hertslet (they were later divorced), and they designed murals, tapestry and stained glass windows and exhibited together. In 1952 Portway gained a travel grant, spending several months in America. Five years later Portway left South Africa for good, travelled extensively in Europe, from 1959–66 living in Ibiza, in 1967 settling in St Ives, Cornwall and being associated with the St Ives School of artists. he later moved to Bristol in the early 1980s. Had regular annual periods working in France, at Razac d’Eymet, Dordogne, where he died. Portway took part in numerous group shows, including international art fairs in Basel, New York and Chicago, winning the European Painting Prize Bronze Medal, 1969, Gold Medal, 1971; he gained the Cornelissen Prize in 1992. The signing of a contract with Drian Gallery in the late 1950s cemented a long association, and Portway also held some of his many solo shows with Marjorie Parr and Gilbert–Parr Galleries. He was a prolific loner whose figurative and abstract works showed technical mastery, having an erotic element and being influenced by Klee, Zen and Jung. He said that his painting “suggests a meaning at many levels”. Tate Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum and many foreign collections hold examples. Memorial retrospectives at Gallery Gilbert, Dorchester, 1997–8. Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)
  • Creator:
    Douglas Portway (1922 - 1993, South African)
  • Creation Year:
    1964
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 43 in (109.22 cm)Width: 35 in (88.9 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
    Oil
  • Movement & Style:
    Abstract
  • Period:
    1960-1969
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU853113342492
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