Prunella Clough

Sale, Phillips London, 6th June 2000, lot 184, where acquired by the present owner

Original canvas. There is very minor surface dirt and traces of minor studio detritus. There is a very tiny, slight possible surface abrasion in the white in the bottom right hand corner, and a further very slight compression to the centre of the right hand edge, only visible upon very close inspection. This excepting the work appears in very good overall condition. Ultraviolet light reveals areas of fluorescence to the white, which appear in keeping with the nature of the Artist's techniques and materials, and does not suggest retouching. Framed in a thin white strip frame, itself float-mounted against white in a large light wooden frame. Please contact 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."

Clough’s later work hovers somewhere between abstraction and figuration. What appears, at first glance, to be a form completely divorced from nature, is one evolved from an observation. It may be that a silhouette against a pale wall, a dark shadow in an underpasses or an oil stain on a pavement may have been the starting point for pictorial forms such as those found in the present example. Her imagery frequently derived from the overlooked mark and the ignored object.

Clough was in the habit of taking source photographs and occasionally making notions in situ (both written and drawn), of interesting shapes and forms that might be useful in putting together future paintings. Such aide mémoires were not usually directly or immediately used in her work; they were more likely to be stored, sometimes in her day books, and eventually might filter through her consciousness to inform her mark-making. In the later works, where it is not uncommon to find dark shapes against pale backgrounds, Clough produced forms of ‘extreme subtlety and lasting impact’ (Frances Spalding, Prunella Clough: Regions Unmapped, Lund Humphries, 2012).

We are grateful to Gerard Hastings, author of Prunella Clough and Keith Vaughan: Visions and Recollections, Pagham Press, (Menier Gallery), 2014, for compiling the catalogue note for the present work.