John Armstrong, A.R.A.

The Artist's wife, from whom acquired by the present owner, circa 1973

The canvas appears original and sound. There are some very tiny, fine lines of reticulation and possible craquelure in places, most apparent in the dark green pigments of the pear and leaf, and only apparent upon very close inspection. There is a fine stretcher bar line along the upper edge and some possible tiny minor flecks of loss to the grey pigment upper centre. Subject to the above, the work appears to be in very good overall condition. Ultraviolet light reveals no obvious signs of fluorescence or retouching. The work is presented in a painted fabric-covered frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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Still life analysis became a major theme for Armstrong following his return to London from Lamorna in 1955. The breakdown of his second marriage left him without a home and with no studio, initially moving between friends and then renting a small flat near Portobello Road. In this spartan environment his compositions were frequently assembled on table tops and window ledges, the fruit and vegetables fresh from the local market.

Armstrong’s fascination for the subject extended beyond arrangement, colour and light. As exemplified by titles such as Inside and Out, and Concave and Convex, and also discussed in his ‘Painters Purpose’ article in The Studio of March 1958, Armstrong’s originality is seen in his analysis of inner and outer surface, frequently juxtaposed with the contained genesis of the fruit or vegetable depicted. This is achieved through a flat microscopic section of the fruitful interior superimposed like a blueprint on the rounded exterior or hollowed shell of the subject itself.

During 1966/67 Armstrong completed a final, highly refined series of these works, with several shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions in 1967 and 1968, including Hollow Fruit, Vegetable Analysis, and Hollow Forms. The present work has similar dimensions to these paintings, but is uniquely composed as a stage set flanked by curtains, recalling Armstrong’s early very successful years as a leading designer for theatre, ballet and film during the 1930s and 40s.

We are grateful to Jonathan Gibbs for compiling this note, and for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.