William Scott, R.A.

Sale, Sotheby's London, 12 November 1975, lot 45
New Art Centre, London
Austin Desmond Fine Art, Berkshire
Private Collection 

Zurich, Galerie Charles Lienhard, William Scott, 11 November-12 December 1959, no.21;
Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, also Freiberg, Dortmund and Munich, William Scott, 2 June-17 July 1960, no.50 (as Untitled, 1959), lent by Galerie Charles Lienhard, Zurich;
London, Bernard Jacobsen Gallery, William Scott, 12 September-13 October 1990;
London, Bernard Jacobsen Gallery, William Scott - A Retrospective, 3 April-11 May 1997.

Nobert Lynton, William Scott, Modern British Master, Vol.1, Bernard Jacobsen Gallery, London, 1990, no.9, illustrated (as Untitled (Abstract) 1959).

The canvas is unlined. Stretcher marks are visible in places across the surface, but specifically in a vertical line in the centre of the lower half of the canvas. There are a few abrasions to the paint surface along the edges of the canvas and near the edges in each corner. There are four cosmetic abrasions to the surface in the lower right quadrant and a single cosmetic abrasion to the area of blue paint in the upper right quadrant. Held in a black wooden and plaster frame.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present work is registered in the William Scott Archive as no.721. Sarah Whitfield is currently preparing the Catalogue Raisonne of works in oil by William Scott.  The William Scott Foundation would like to hear from owners of any work by the artist so that these can be included in this comprehensive catalogue or in future projected catalogues.  Please write to Sarah Whitfield c/o Sotheby's, 20th Century British Art Department, 34-35 New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA.  

Reverting to a predominantly figurative vocabulary in the mid-1950s, Scott's work once more began to develop a strong abstract idiom towards the end of that decade. As with the earlier abstract paintings of 1952-53 (see lots 148 - 150 and 153), the original starting point was the still life but this new move was marked by a deliberate exploration of texture.

Whilst remaining domestic in scale, the present painting demonstrates the expansive and free handling that was characteristic of his larger canvas paintings of the period. Simplified forms float and drift across the picture surface, and in their indulgent and enjoyable richness of texture demonstrate the prevalence of a strong European tradition of painterliness which may be seen as a reaction to the absence of history in contemporary American art. The range of textures that are drawn together in the present painting are quite remarkable in their variance, from the richly stroked palette-knifed sky-blue form to the left of the composition to the thickly painted white line which delineates the large form at the upper right.

Thus, in the present work Scott has broken down the recognisable elements of a still life to such an extent that it appears at first sight to be entirely abstract. However, the echoes of the familiar forms of cup and pan still float across the surface. By removing their obvious connotations, the forms were released by the artist to act as simple signifiers and mark a path forward towards the full abstraction Scott would achieve in the early 1960s.