Elvic Steele

1960's British Surrealist Oil Painting - 'Plant Growth' Abstract

circa 1960's

Artist/ School: Josyne Gallet Title: Floating Figure Medium: oil painting on canvas, unframed Size: canvas: 45.5 x 28.75 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition...

Stunning original oil painting by Elvic Steele depicting this surrealist fantasy abstract painting. Elvic Steele is a fascinating English painter. Her works entrance the observer, d...

Title: Battle of Constantine Artist: Antoni Pitxot i Soler (1934–2015) Technique: Oil on board Dimensions (unframed): 9 x 12.6 in Dimensions (framed): 17.3 x 20.9 in Signature: Signed in the lower right corner Period: Second half of the 20th century Provenance: Galeria d’Art Àmbit, Barcelona Description Battle of Constantine is a symbolic and fragmented composition that showcases the dreamlike world so characteristic of Antoni Pitxot. Through an array of rock-like, anthropomorphic forms, the artist constructs a mythical and dramatic landscape that suggests an epic confrontation. The vivid pink sky and tactile textures reinforce the visual tension, evoking ruins, bodies, and reliefs that seem to emerge directly from the earth. In this piece, Pitxot applies his meticulous technique and unmistakable visual language, where ambiguity is a tool for the viewer's imagination. The boundary between figure and landscape blurs, creating a poetic vision that feels both ancient and surreal. About the Artist Antoni Pitxot i Soler (1934–2015) was a prominent Catalan painter born in Figueres, Girona, into a family with a long artistic tradition. He spent much of his life in Cadaqués, where he developed a highly personal style centered on compositions of stone-like forms that resemble human and animal figures, blending nature with mythology and memory. Pitxot was a close friend and collaborator of Salvador Dalí. Their artistic connection led to Pitxot playing a key role in the creation of the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, where he later served as the museum's lifelong director. After Dalí’s death...

Title: The Petrified Origin Artist: Antoni Pitxot i Soler (1934–2015) Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 25.6 x 31.9 in (65 x 81 cm) Date: 1967 Condition: Unframed Signature: Signed lower right: Pitxot Provenance: Private collection Notes: Early work from Pitxot’s mature period, featuring the symbolic and meticulously rendered stone forms that would define his artistic identity. 📝 Work Description In The Petrified Origin, Antoni Pitxot presents a haunting and timeless vision of a single, eroded rock suspended in a dreamlike, undefined space. The stone, modeled with sculptural precision, appears to float over a subtly reflective surface, devoid of background or narrative context. Its porous texture, cracks, and shadows evoke a fossilized memory — a silent relic of geological time. Painted in 1967, this piece exemplifies Pitxot's unique visual language, developed through his practice of collecting stones along the Costa Brava and transforming them into anthropomorphic and symbolic compositions. The result is both surreal and solemn, an ode to nature’s memory and the enduring presence of the inanimate. 👤 About the Artist Antoni Pitxot i Soler (born in Figueres, 1934 – died in Barcelona, 2015) was a Catalan painter deeply rooted in the surrealist tradition. Coming from an artistic family —his uncle was Ramon Pichot, a friend of Picasso and Dalí— Pitxot trained as a draughtsman and painter from a young age. In the 1960s, he settled in Cadaqués, where he developed his distinct artistic universe. His paintings revolve around stone as a symbol of permanence, transformation, and memory. Pitxot created sculptural assemblages from real coastal stones and later immortalized them in oil on canvas. His works often hint at human figures, ancient myths, and allegories of time. 🎭 Connection with Salvador Dalí Pitxot was not only a close friend of Salvador Dalí but also one of his closest collaborators. Dalí admired his work and invited him to co-design the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres. After Dalí’s death...