Prunella Clough

Corporate Collection, U.K.
Their sale, Sotheby's London, 15th July 2008, lot 144, where acquired by the present owner

Osborne Samuel, London, Prunella Clough, Unconsidered Wastelands, 16th April - 16th May 2015, un-numbered catalogue, illustrated p.8, 27.

Frances Spalding, Prunella Clough: Regions Unmapped, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2012, p.103, illustrated pl.61.

The canvas is original and appears sound. There is a small area of reticulation, to the dark grey pigment to the left, at the centre. There is an accretion in the figure's ear. There are further light signs of surface dirt. Subject to the above, the work appears to be in very good overall condition. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals a couple of tiny instances of fluorescence and possible retouching to the top left corner. The work is float mounted within a canvas slip, behind glass in a simple wooden frame. 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."

We are grateful to Gerard Hastings for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.

Clough was always interested in the trade and tackle of labour; workmen’s gear and machine forms provided her with helpful visual information throughout her career, since they provided her with the necessary ‘ready-made abstract shapes’ she could appropriate for her paintings. These were translated into a formal arrangement generally hovering somewhere between abstraction and figuration. In her earlier works, such as Lorry with Ladder I, she included figures, and these, without exception, were treated as formally as surrounding objects from the building site on which they worked.

Clough’s choice of colour here is made up of a series of muted earth pigments – burnt and raw umbers, subdued oranges and low-key greys. These, while communicating something of the reality of worksite labour, also create a harmonious and economical palette. The composition is carefully balanced into a pattern of pictorial forms – diagonals, horizontals and verticals carefully structured and adjusted into a resolved arrangement.

Gerard Hastings.