CRAIGIE AITCHISON, R.A. | Etruscan Pot, Still Life

Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, where acquired by the present owners, 27th March 2012

Cate Haste, Craigie Aitchison: A Life in Colour, Lund Humphries, London, 2014, p.34, illustrated p.35. 

The canvas has been wrapped around board and attached on the verso with strips of adhesive at intervals on the edges. As the canvas is not adhered to the board it undulates gently throughout. There are three creases running horizontally across the work. There is a push to the canvas at the lower left of the vase, with associated loss to this area with a few further specks of loss to the blue pigment elsewhere. There is some rubbing to the canvas at the extreme edges. There is general surface dirt and detritus to the canvas. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals no obvious signs of fluorescence or retouching. The work is held in a painted wooden frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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In June 1952 Aitchison was accepted into the Slade, as a paying student on a three-days-a-week course for a year. Arriving in October of that year, with his dog Somerset in tow, by the end of his first term he was attending school every day, so applied for a full-time position. In order to be accepted as a full-time student Aitchison was required to submit works that he had painted since beginning his course, including Etruscan Pot, Still Life, which was painted from a work in the collection of the nearby British Museum. An important early work, it showcases Aitchison's love of colour and his growing mastery of the still life genre.