Patrick Heron

Acquired from the Artist (through Waddington Galleries, London), by a Private Collector, January 1966
Redfern Gallery, London, where acquired by Mr and Mrs Eric Ambler, 18th July 1979
Gifted by the above to the mother of the present owner, and thence by descent 

Original canvas. There is a small surface abrasion near the centre of the lower edge. There are faint signs of craquelure, mainly located in the lower left quadrant, and a line near the upper left corner. The surface is slightly dirty with occasional spots of staining and the work may benefit from a light clean. Under ultraviolet light some areas fluoresce but these appear to relate to areas of staining and dirt rather than retouchings. Held in a simple metal frame. Please call the department on 0207 293 6424 if you have any questions about the present work.
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Amongst the many remarkable features of Heron's career was his ability to continually develop and renew his paintings so that each appears both fresh and adventurous. Throughout the 1950s, discernible groupings of work had succeeded each other, and by the very end of the decade, paintings such as Yellow Painting: October 1958 -May/June 1959 (Tate Collection, London) and Yellow Painting with Orange and Brown - Ochre Squares: June - Oct 1959 (Private Collection) had achieved a complexity and richness that constantly amaze. However, Heron's work rarely settles at any point, and as 1959 progressed into the new decade, the paintings began to become simpler again, with reduced numbers of forms, and little overpainting and re-working. Initially this happened through one colour becoming dominant and steadily encroaching upon the others, as in Black Painting - Red, Brown, Olive: July 1959 (Private Collection), which was awarded that year's Grand Prize at the John Moores Exhibition. As the numbers of forms lessened, so the layering of colours also diminished, and by the early 1960s, we can see the introduction of different handling techniques that came to characterise his work from the 1960s and 1970s.

The simplification of the picture plane, and the gradual shifting of the forms away towards the edges of the canvas allowed Heron to use large areas of colour to set the tone of the painting, and in some works, as here in Cobalt with Ceruleum and Ultramarine: July 1965, this is taken even further by drawing all the colour from within a single range. Limiting himself in this way ensured that the weight of the forms was not overwhelmed by the contrast of the colours, rather that the differing tones worked together to define and place the forms within the picture plane.

Further differentiation is introduced by the variations in handling, from a thinly-brushed wash that allows the ground to bounce back to us through the pigment, to a heavily impastoed strip along the left edge which stands solidly, anchoring the more ethereal forms that hover beyond. As the decade progressed Heron would reintroduce stronger and more contrasting colours, and explore the points at which these colours met, but in Cobalt with Ceruleum and Ultramarine: July 1965 we see Heron working at a point where he relishes the challenge of bringing together a purity of intention and imagination using only restricted means.

The Patrick Heron Estate is preparing the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the Artist's work and would like to hear from owners of any work by Patrick Heron so that these can be included in this comprehensive catalogue. Please write to Susanna Heron , c/o Sotheby's, Modern & Post War British Art, 34-35 New Bond Street, London, W1A 2AA.