Stanza

A Guide to the Past - British Abstract art oil painting cityscape mapping black

2010

A Welsh artist, Morgan studied at Cardiff College of Art under Ceri Richards. He was a renowned imaginative artist and friend of Cedric Morris. He was influenced by the Benton End ar...

An original oil on canvas by noted Scottish artist William Gear which dates to 1981. Entitled early Spring it is a vibrant and fresh art work with lovely colouring. Signed, dated and titled verso. Provenance. William Gear estate. Royal Birmingham Society of Artists 1981. Condition. Oil on canvas, 48 inches by 32 inches. Excellent condition. William Gear (1915-1997). Few British painters have played an active role in the modern abstract movement of post-war Europe. William Gear was the most passionate and committed exception. He continued the tradition of the Edinburgh-Paris axis established by J.D. Fergusson, Samuel Peploe and others, spending vital years between 1947 and 1950 living and working in Paris. Significantly, in recent years, he received the greatest acclaim in France, Germany and the Netherlands. He was born in 1915 in Methil, Fife, into a mining family; the particular landscape of "pitheads, the sea, rocks, castles, trees, storms and poverty" marked his earliest identity with a place and probably remained the most influential to his art. Years later he recalled as a schoolboy visiting the local art gallery in Kirkcaldy and seeing 12 colourful still-lifes by Peploe. Art-history lessons during student years at Edinburgh College of Art, in particular Byzantine classes under David Talbot Rice, also influenced his concern for structure. This had as much to do with the formal language of painting as sheer delight in the medium itself. Gear never missed an opportunity to show people the merits of a well-constructed painting. On a travelling scholarship in 1937, he chose to study with Fernand Leger, described by Gear as "a keystone for me, seldom abstract, rather a degree of abstraction". The Second World War interrupted these formative years and, by 1940, Gear had joined the Royal Corps of Signals. Dispatched to the Middle East, he still had the discipline to paint - mostly works on paper of damaged landscapes - with exhibitions in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo as well as Siena and Florence. His naturally robust and tenacious temperament was profoundly affected by visiting Bergen-Belsen, and this certainly influenced the later experiments with the black armature. As the British officer in Celle, working for the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Control Commission, he focused on securing the safety of the Berlin Art Collection in Schloss Celle, and organised an important series of modern art exhibitions, including the rejected work of Karl Otto Gotz...

In crafting this piece, I channeled my passion for the intangible dance of feelings and thoughts. Oils offer depth and richness, applied in layers to create an immersive landscape of emotion. There's a sense of movement, almost like the ebb and flow of a serene tide, contained within the abstraction. This painting is a reflection of life's complexities, striving to resonate and awaken a profound connection in the beholder's spirit. "Stay with me" is a captivating human scale painting that beckons the person viewing it to step inside and stay a while. It is made with a gorgeous golden palette with violet and...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Celestial Reflections by Nick Quirke is a breathtaking explor...