Peter Howson

Flowers East, London:
Private Collection

The canvas is original. There is an extremely light abrasion to the upper right corner. Otherwise in good original condition, clean and ready to hang. Ultraviolet light reveals no sign of retouching. Unframed.
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Peter Howson travelled to India with Nicola Hicks, a fellow artist represented by Angela Flowers, to work on images of tigers. This trip was extremely traumatic for Howson whose travelling companion contracted bronchial pneumonia on arrival in India and required him to assume the role of carer which did not come naturally to a man who freely admits, "I always think about myself." (Robert Heller, Peter Howson, p. 146) Despite having played a large part in saving Nicola from the jaws of death, something which Howson constantly feared would materialise, his abiding memory of the trip from an artist's perspective is that "I didn't manage to get much work done." (p. 145) However, as Robert Heller identifies Howson's "admirable behaviour didn't lead to any greater self-esteem. He was still too unsettled  - a state of mind shown by his closet drinking in India: 'I was secretly diving away on any kind of cute Indian liquor that I could find, legal or illegal'. As he recalls, the return to Britain 'was really the beginning of the end for my time in London'". (p.149)

Hope and Sufferance was painted c.1998, a time of particular depression and anxiety in Howson's personal life; unsettled in London and desperately seeking an escape his alcoholism further strengthened its self-destructive grip. Howson recalls "the title of this major work comes from the print studio I was working in at this time in South London called 'Hope and Sufferance'. It was a good title because I was suffering through my drinking and causing suffering to my girlfriend Maureen Murray and my daughter Lucie. Maureen is featured in the oil. I also had hope that this bad time would end, and I had thoughts of returning to Glasgow. My relationship with Flowers East and Matthew my art dealer was also going through a bad time. The painting is a celebration of humanity and the dignity of people. The bird (or eagle) in the painting symbolises my desire for freedom. The main figure in the oil is a depiction of myself, ready to leave London for Glasgow." (Peter Howson, 2007)

Hope and Sufferance is a key work within the context of Howson's highly biographical oeuvre, illustrating his 'descent into hell' prior to the pivotal year 2000 when he entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme. A highly charged and typically aggressive composition in which the artist portrays himself in the centre of the composition reflects both his self-obsession and human vulnerability.