PRUNELLA CLOUGH | Untitled

The New Art Centre, London
Private Collection
Their sale, Sotheby's London, 15th July 2008, lot 162, where acquired by the present owner

Both boards are stable. There are Artist's pinholes visible at all the edges of the works. In the left hand work, there is one associated hole at the upper edge. There is some rounding to the lower corners, and some nicks to all the edges. There are small flecks of loss throughout, some of which are in keeping with the Artist's working methods and materials. There is one loss atthe right edge of the left hand panel. There are tears, creases and bubbles in the collaged elements, in keeping with the Artist's working methods and materials. There are a number of small scratches to the works, in particular to the lower edges. In the left hand work there is one long vertical scratch in the lower left quadrant. The collaged elements are secure with some very slight lifting in the corners of the cloths in the right hand panel. There is some surface dirt and instances of studio matter throughout. This excepting the work appears to be in very good overall condition. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals fluorescence in keeping with the Artist's working methods and materials. The work is unframed. 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."

‘Prunella’s later work, with its richly varied surfaces adorned with enigmatic contours and puzzling silhouettes, has often been categorized as abstract. Nevertheless it was always rooted in something seen or recalled. She claimed to have never painted an abstract picture: Nothing that I do is abstract. I can locate all the ingredients of a painting in the richness of the outside world, the world of perception...If I take a thing from the real world, detach it and put it into a painting, something takes over that goes further than anything that I can logically describe or assess. (Prunella Clough, interview with Bryan Robertson, 1996).

Far from being immediate responses to, or direct representations of the observed world, Prunella’s paintings are the products of several layers of experience and ritual. Her creative stages included aspects of observation, filtered memory, accumulated understanding and hands-on experimentation with materials. Furthermore, there was an on-going dialogue with well-worked themes and motifs – fragments from the unconsidered wastelands of the modern ‘urbscape’, as she called it. Drawing, note-taking and photography also played their part and when these creative processes collided, a painting might emerge. In 1982 I quizzed her over where her inspiration predominantly lay – was it in what her eye perceived or in what she imagined. She replied:

Where do the paintings come from – would be a better question. Just glanced at – perhaps in passing, noticed rather than stared at. Something that settles on you and not something studied. Observation, detachment, replacement. (Prunella Clough, interview with Gerard Hastings, June 1982).’

Extract from Gerard Hastings, Prunella Clough: Unconsidered Wastelands, Osborne Samuel, London 2015, p. 15).