Patrick Heron

Redfern Gallery, London, where acquired by the previous owners, 1st October 1951, and thence to the present owners, 1978

London, Redfern Gallery, Recent Paintings by Patrick Heron, 27th April - 20th May 1950, cat. no.13 (as Reclining Nude).

Original canvas. There are very tiny, minor old frame abrasions visible to the extreme corners, only visible when viewing the canvas out of the frame. There is a tiny, light surface scratch in the upper left corner, and a very fine line of horizontal rubbing at the lower left hand edge, only visible upon extremely close inspection. There is minor surface dirt and possible light varnish discolouration, but this excepting the work appears in very good overall condition. Ultraviolet light reveals a couple of tiny spots of fluorescence and possible retouching to the top extreme left hand edge, and a further tiny spot to the centre of the bottom edge. Housed in a thick, light wooden frame. Please contact the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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With its delicate, almost calligraphic lines, flattened planes and blocks of colour, Reclining Figure (Black) 1950, displays the hallmarks of Patrick Heron's works of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Although in this period Heron is referred to as a figurative painter, before the development of his wholly non-figurative works from 1956, Heron nevertheless recalls how these paintings felt 'terribly abstract.' To the British public at the time Heron's works were revolutionary, drawing upon developments on the Continent, in particular the work of Matisse, Bonnard and Braque, of which the home audience was largely unaware. Yet Heron, at the forefront within his artistic peers, had long been absorbing and championing their innovative methods, in particular Matisse's radical deployment of colour, line and form. He wrote that Matisse's The Red Studio, which he had seen at the Redfern Gallery in 1943, was 'by far and away the most influential single painting in my entire career' (quoted in Mel Gooding, Patrick Heron, Phaidon, London, 1994, p.56). Such works went beyond a simple recording of the visual appearance of things, what Heron called 'the camera eye', and expressed a sensuality and rhythm to which he was deeply predisposed. Only through the abstract harmony of colour and form did Heron believe that the 'profoundest human thought and feeling [could] find direct expression' (Patrick Heron, 1955, ibid, p.56). To this end, Braque's magisterial Atelier interiors which Heron encountered first-hand on a visit to the artist's studio in 1949 also provided rich inspiration, in particular the idea of the 'transparency' of objects through continuous and overlapping lines.

Reclining Figure (Black) 1950, exemplifies these influences. Under Heron’s hand, the reclining figure perched on a loosely delineated settee is transformed; given a poeticism through his use of lively, wandering lines and thinly painted blocks of colour, sometimes playing with visual patterning, drawing out the playful polka dotted upholstery. The distortion of perspective and flatness of the planes forcefully engages the viewer, bringing the figure into immediate proximity - a method Braque championed, believing art should bring the viewer and object together to offer a full spatial experience. A central creed of Heron's was that art is to be joyful and in Reclining Figure (Black) 1950, dynamic line and striking colours combine to infuse the work with an unabashed gaiety.

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