Victor Pasmore

Marlborough New Gallery, London, where acquired by Sir Martyn Beckett, May 1964 
His sale, Christie's London, 30th May 1997, lot 152 (as Line and Space No.20), where acquired by David Bowie

London, Marlborough New Gallery, Victor Pasmore, May 1964, cat. no.33, illustrated (as Line and Space No. 20);
London, Tate, Victor Pasmore: Retrospective Exhibition 1925-1965, 14th May - 27th June 1965, cat. no.191, illustrated pl.64 (as Line and Space No. 20).

Alan Bowness and Luigi Lambertini, Victor Pasmore, Thames and Hudson, London, 1980, cat. no.324, illustrated.

The wooden construction and the glass surround appear sound and secure. There are some fine lines of cracking to the wood, in line with the grain, and some associated very small specks of loss around the edges. There are some small scratches to the reverse of the glass in the lower right and lower left quadrants. There are some tiny spots of loss to the oil in places, most apparent to the diagonal black painted line in the lower left quadrant, some of which may be in keeping with the artist's technique, and there are some flecks of surface dirt and matter. Subject to the above, the work appears to be in very good overall condition. Ultraviolet light reveals some possible retouching within the curved line just to the left of centre. The glass is edged with aluminium. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 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."

Pasmore’s international reputation as one of the main proponents of post-war British abstraction was launched in the early 1960s, with retrospective exhibitions at a selection of the most important museums of Modern art in Europe in 1960: the British Pavilion at the XXXth Venice Bienniale, the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Stedelijk in Amsterdam, the Louisana in Copenhagen, the Bochum Stadische Kunst Galerie, the Oslo Kunsterners Hus, the Hanover Kestner-Gesellschaft, the Bern Kunsthalle, and finally the Marlborough Gallery in London, whose roster of artists he joined in 1961. From 1963 he served as a trustee of the Tate gallery and in 1964, the year the present work was made, he was awarded the Carnegie prize at the Pittsburgh International, joint with Pierre Soulages.

From 1964 Pasmore returned to painting after a decade spent making works in relief: he now sought to investigate abstraction through the use of two-dimensional linear figures, rather than three-dimensional constructions. In the instance of the present work, the applied collage elements and the continuation of one pictorial element into the glass surround act as a bridge between the dimensions while also demonstrating his interest in movement and growth. Pasmore’s experiments with abstraction were inspired in particular by the work of Russian Constructivist Lazlo Maholy-Nagy and German Expressionist Paul Klee, but he hesitated before the pure Geometricism of Piet Mondrian, as he explains:

'It is for this reason that I have used geometric forms; not because I wish to create a geometric art, but because these forms, being already abstracted from nature and universally recognised, have become concrete elements in themselves and, as such, lend themselves to free interpretation by the painter. In this respect they resemble the elements of music which are not drawn from any sounds, but from carefully selected and controlled notes' (the Artist, 24th February 1951, quoted in Alastair Grieve (ed.), Victor Pasmore: Writings and Interviews, Tate Publishing, London, 2010, p.56).

Sir Martyn Beckett, the first owner of the present work, established his own architectural practice in 1952 and was likely introduced to Victor Pasmore’s work through the gallerist Andras Kalman or Ben Nicholson. That Beckett, who was an influential figure in the post-war re-conception of country house architecture, collected a number of pieces by Pasmore underlines the importance of an architectonic approach to his art as well as his importance in understanding the artistic development of post-war Britain.