Keith Vaughan

Marlborough Fine Art, London, where acquired by the previous owner
Acquired from the above by a Private Collection, U.S.A.

London, Whitechapel Gallery, Keith Vaughan, March - April 1962, cat. no.246.

The sheet is fully laid down to a backing card. There is an area of loss in the bottom left corner, which may be in keeping with the artist's original execution. There is a tiny crease to tip of the bottom right corner, with further traces of very minor surface dirt to the work. There are some small isolated losses to the vertical white gouache in the top centre, and to the bottom centre, visible upon close inspection. There are traces of craquelure to the ink to the left of the figure's head. There are a few small creases to the centre of the left edge. This excepting the work appears in good overall condition, with strong, vivid colours throughout. Housed behind glass in a think gilt frame, set within a linen textured mount. Please contact the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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We are grateful to Gerard Hastings, whose new book, Paradise Found and Lost: Keith Vaughan in Essex, has just been published by Pagham Press, for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.

Two figures, standing by the edge of a blue lake, are absorbed both physically and emotionally in one another’s company. They merge into the landscape that surrounds them. Overhead a pale sun (or possibly a silvery moon) shines down to create a series of shadows and silhouetted trees in the middle distance.

This boldly worked gouache was painted after Vaughan returned from a visit to the United States; he had spent the winter term there as painter in residence at Iowa State University. Direct contact with American art and the sense of optimism he encountered among his fellow artists promoted in him a notable gain in the handling of his materials. Consequently he experienced a rare sense of self-confidence. On his return his painting and his teaching benefitted from the experience. This perhaps, is evident here in the vigorous assurance with which the pigment is applied. The surface texture, for example, is bold and varied and demonstrates a broader painting vocabulary than Vaughan had hitherto exercised. The gestural, expressive brushwork and the frothy vigour of the application serves to animate the entire surface of the composition. Vaughan wrote in his journal:

Good period of work (month or so). Very conscious of learning a lot – from myself – from my discussions at the Slade. For the first time in 2 years or more, fully aware of what I want to do & of my powers … But great urge to paint well. Really well. I understand the process so much better than a year ago. (Keith Vaughan, unpublished journal entry: Wednesday, November 18, 1959).

Gerard Hastings, 2016.