STILL LIFE by William Scott Lot n° 24

William Scott CBE, RA, 1913-1989 STILL LIFE Watercolour and gouache, 11" x 14 3/4" (28 x 37.5cm), signed. Provenance: Archeus Fine Art, London (label verso). William Scott, one of the few Irish artists who is recognised and collected internationally, was influenced by Abstract Expressionism but was constantly drawn back to European-based figuration, focusing on simple still life subjects. The swings from figuration to complete abstraction were part and parcel of his work. The period from 1958-1962, from which Still Life probably dates, is characterised by very sensuous painterly abstractions with rich surfaces, their subjects having only the most tenuous links to the observed world. This is a bold and dramatic work in which pared down shapes float on a dense watery background. The composition is built around a visual ‘dialogue’ between two shapes, each pulling your eye outwards in opposite directions. Although the shape on the right is more insubstantial than its opponent on the left, it holds its own because of the brilliant intensity of the blue line that defines it. In fact, the blue would dominate except for the artist’s clever introduction of orange tones on the extreme left. Scott’s paintings, like this one, are about creating visual tension that activates the picture surface. The ‘conversation’ in Still Life is animated, with a carefully calibrated visual push and pull between left and right. Dr Frances Ruane HRHA