Ceri Richards

Leicester Galleries, London, according to the artist's inscription
Mark Tinney Gallery, Cardiff 

The canvas is in good original condition. There are traces of dirt on the paint surface, particularly in the areas of impasto but the surface is in good overall condition. There is no sign of retouching under ultra-violet light. Held behind glass in a gilded wooden frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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 extensive series of paintings that Richards produced from 1957-1963 that took their source from Claude Debussy's prelude La Cathédrale engloutie (first published in the 1909-1910 First Book of Preludes for Piano) form a major theme in his oeuvre and in many ways seem to encapsulate the artist's exploration of the concept of abstraction as an emotional response to the stimuli of other artistic forms of expression and thus run concurrently with the musical analogies inherent in the work of a number of other British artists of his generation, perhaps most notably Ivon Hitchens.

 

The Cathédrale series see Richards inventing a unique and personal manner that incorporated the collage elements of his 1930s surrealist works within an instinctively painterly form. The Debussy prelude evokes the legend of the submerged cathedral of Ys in Brittany, the bells of the church ringing beneath the waves, and Richards was able to interpret this with no little feeling, knowing, of course, the composer's own awareness of Monet and his series paintings. It can therefore be no coincidence that Richards' embarkation on this theme was concurrent with the 1957 Tate Gallery exhibition of Monet's works, which included four of the superb Rouen Cathedral series and several of the Water Lilies series. The use of contrasting dark and light within a rich deep blue and the incorporation of assemblage constructions give an architectural grandeur to the pieces that many critics, both at the time and since, have seen as one of the artist's key achievements. 

 

My painting must create a sensation inseparable from the feeling I have for the subject from which it stems. (The artist, statement 1963)