Victor Pasmore, R.A.

The Estate of the Artist
Marlborough Fine Art, London, where acquired by the present owner in December 2004

Possibly Venice, XXX Venice Biennale, 1960, with tour to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Bolchum, Belgrade, Oslo and Copenhagen;
Possibly Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Retrospective Exhibition, 1962;
Possibly Zurich, Galerie Charles Lienhard, 1963.

Alan Bowness and Luigi Lambertini, Victor Pasmore, Thames and Hudson, London, 1980, cat. no.193. 

The relief is stable. There are one or two areas of very minor cracking to the wood and chips to areas of the paint surface. There are some scratches and stains on the perspex and a layer of surface dirt. Otherwise the work appears in good overall condition. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 6424 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."

Although Pasmore had made his first crucial break with figuration in the paintings of 1948-49, the process by which he achieved full abstraction took some time and in statements of the period the artist often takes great pains to ensure that his constructed abstraction was not seen as derived from a subject. In about 1951 he began to make relief constructions, partly in an attempt to further distance himself from the suggestions of landscape that some saw as residual in his work. The early reliefs were very home-made, and few survive in their original state, being either substantially reworked by the artist or dismantled later. However, his interest in the use of industrial materials was growing, and with the precedents of Gabo, Moholy-Nagy and Biederman, it is not surprising that Pasmore began to experiment with a new array of materials, and it is clear from the photographs that do record these experimental pieces that metals and plastics, both clear and coloured, are major components. It appears that he intended certain pieces to be produced as editions, but as selling even one piece was proving difficult, the potential expense was prohibitive. However, as Lawrence Alloway highlighted in his particularly illuminating article for Art News in 1955 (published in 1956), the success of these works lay in that fact that the balance and composition of each piece was in a constant state of flux around the base motifs.