Margaret Mellis

The Estate of the Artist, from whom acquired by Austin/Desmond Fine Art, London
Acquired from the above by the present owner

London, Austin/Desmond Fine Art, Margaret Mellis Constructions, 27th February - 27th March 2008, cat. no.13, illustrated p.33;
Norwich, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Margaret Mellis: A Life in Colour, 1st July - 31st August 2008, un-numbered catalogue, illustrated on the cover;
St Ives, Tate St Ives, Summer 2011: Martin Creed, Fischli and Weiss, Lucio Fontana, Naum Gabo, Agnes Martin, Margaret Mellis, Roman Ondák, Anri Sala, 14th May - 25th September 2011, un-numbered catalogue, illustrated n.p.

Andrew Lambirth, Margaret Mellis, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2010, cat. no.142, illustrated p.180.

There are a number of cracks, chips and losses as well as old screw heads and screw holes to the wood in places, as well as an apparent split to the blue painted wood element with protruding nails at the right of the work. There are also some scuffs, scratches, flaking, lifting, craquelure and loss to the paint in places. All of the above are thought to be in keeping with the Artist's materials. There is a light layer of surface dirt to the work. Subject to the above the work appears to be in excellent overall condition. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals areas of fluorescence which appear to be the Artist's hand, but no obvious signs of restoration or retouching. The work is suspended from two hanging hooks at the reverse. Please telephone the department on 0044 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."

‘Working solely on colour, as affirmed and amended by form and structure, she produced relief sculptures of wit and verve, in which semi-representational images unintended at the outset - soaring angels, dipping boats, surging seas - appeared as if by magic.’ (Ian Collins, ‘Margaret Mellis,’ Obituary, The Guardian, 21st March 2009)

Trained at Edinburgh College of Art, Mellis married fellow painter Adrian Stokes in 1938 and moved to St Ives the following year. Friends with many of the modernist circle in London, Mellis and Stokes invited Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth to lodge with them temporarily after the outbreak of World War Two. Mellis' early work tended towards a constructivist manner throughout the war years, influenced by both Nicholson and Naum Gabo. In 1946 she left Carbis Bay and later moved to the South of France with the artist Francis Davison. In 1950, Mellis and Davison returned to England and settled in in Southwold, Suffolk. In 1978 Mellis began to produce driftwood constructions, incorporating coloured bits of boats, structures, oars or timber she would find along the beach, some of which would retain their inherent peeling paint surfaces, some of which she would resurface. While in a minor way indebted to her earlier interest in constructivism, these reliefs of the flotsam of the sea were concerned with surface, colour and form, abstract in concept but from which semi-representational likenesses emerge.