Opening to a Palm Plantation
Titled ‘Opening to a Palm Plantation (on sheet verso)33 cm x 22 cms (13 x 9 ins)ProvenanceWith the Marlborough Gallery, London, where acquired by the family of the present owner and thence by descentPrivate Collection UK“Sutherland’s eye was caught by pomegranates bursting their tough skins, the ripe maize cobs casting off their sheaths of foliage, the delicate undulations of banana leaves, the tough bottle-like gourds and the sinuous vines tying themselves in curves to the framework of the pergola”.An extract from “The work of Graham Sutherland” by Douglas Cooper, Lund Humphries, London 1961, page 43.This beautiful gouache and crayon work by Sutherland is almost certainly inspired by the exotic natural scenery and landscape surrounding Sutherland’s beloved home, La Villa Blanche at Menton in the South of France. Sutherland first visited the region in 1947, having visited Paris in 1944 and commented “it was the first time I had been abroad in my life. Before the war I hadn’t been able to afford it and before that I was leading a really insular English life”. He returned to the Midi in the autumn of that year, to visit both Picasso & Matisse. He made this trip every summer until in 1955 when he and his wife Kathleen bought the villa. It was a modernist building echoing Le Corbusier and designed by the Irish architect Eileen Gray. It was named after their home in Kent which was called The White House.During this period, he adopted a number of mediterranean motifs, particularly the cultivated vegetation of the area and embraced a shift in palette in response to the vivid colours enriched by the sunlight. Sutherland produced several notable works of palm trees, which were reproduced as lithographs and often used for travel publicity for the region. Despite his wealth of a new subject matter, pictures from this period can be considered relatively rare as the body of work produced was not substantial. Sutherland remarked “It has been very lovely down here…in spite of this, I do not seem to have produced much work, although I have been working regularly every day.” The South of France period resulted in some of Sutherland’s happiest days and most vibrant work. He would frequent the Monte Carlo casino with Francis Bacon and regularly saw Picasso who had become a friend and inspiration. It was through his mutual friendship with Kenneth Clark that Sutherland met Somerset Maugham and began work on one of his most famous and vibrant portraits, now in the collection of the Tate Gallery. The inclusion of palm leaves above the sitter’s head is a fitting tribute to a recurring and important motif to Sutherland during this time.Graham Vivian Sutherland was born in Streatham, London on 24th August 1903. He was the eldest of three children to parents who were both amateur painters and musicians. He attended the Homefield Preparatory School in Sutton and then Epsom College, Surrey until 1919. Following family tradition, he began an engineering apprenticeship at the Midland Railway Locomotive Works in Derby but quickly realised this was not his destiny. He attended the Goldsmiths School of Art in 1921, specialising in engraving and etching until he graduated in 1926. Even as a student, Sutherland exhibited drawings and engravings at the XXI gallery in 1925 and 1928, which provided him with a source of income. His influence was of pastoral subjects from William Blake and Samuel Palmer and he was a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers from 1926 – 1933. He taught engraving at the Chelsea School of Art from 1926. However, the print market collapsed in the early 1930’s due to the Great Depression and Sutherland then started to concentrate on painting. His early works were mainly landscapes and inspired by Paul Nash. He visited Pembrokeshire in 1934 and the area was to profoundly influence his focus on natural forms which often led to his work being of a surreal nature. He exhibited at the International Surrealist Exhibition in London in 1936 and this period secured his reputation as a leading Modern British artist. From 1935 – 1940 he taught composition and book illustration at Chelsea, exhibited at the NEAC 1929 -1933 and with the London Group from 1932. He held his first one-man show at the Paul Rosenberg and Helft Gallery in 1938, mainly showing Welsh landscapes.As well as oil painting Sutherland took up glass design, fabric design and poster designs. He converted to Catholicism as a young man which resulted in deep religious convictions and his work was often filled with spiritual references. His conversion was in 1926, a year before he married Kathleen Barry who was a fellow student at Goldsmiths College from whom he was inseparable. They lived at various homes in Kent before settling at Trottiscliffe in 1945.At the start of World War II, the Chelsea School of Art closed and the Sutherlands moved to Tetbury in Gloucestershire. Between 1940 and 1945 Sutherland was employed by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee. He recorded bomb damage in Wales and then damage caused by the Blitz in both Wales and London. This single body of work was called “Devastation”, never disclosed locations or human remains. He completed no less than 150 works.In 1946 his first New York exhibition was held at the Buchholz Gallery and again in 1948 as a solo exhibition, also at the Hanover Gallery in London. He held a solo show at the Venice Biennale in 1952 which was also shown at the Musee Nationale d’Art Modern in Paris. In 1953 a show at the Arts Council of Great Britain was also shown at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Kunsthaus Zurich and the Tate Gallery in London. Sutherland served as a Trustee of the Tate Gallery from 1948-1954. In 1946 he was commissioned to paint “The Crucifixion” by Walter Hussey, Vicar of St Matthews Church, Northampton, an important patron of modern religious art. He completed the designs for the Coventry Cathedral Tapestry “Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph” between 1954 and 1957, which was installed in 1962 having made nine visits to the weavers in France to complete the work.Sutherland acquired several patrons in Italy and used to spend his time between Menton and Venice after he purchased his home in Menton. He painted several portraits during this period, famously of Sir Winston Churchill which caused great consternation and was later destroyed by Lady Spencer-Churchill. He was established as an unofficial State Portrait painter by the Queen Mother and received the Order of Merit in 1960. His absence from Britain whilst enjoying sunnier climes, did affect his status here, but towards the end of his life he became inspired once more by the Pembrokeshire landscape and worked regularly in the region again. He exhibited at the Marlborough Gallery in London from where this painting was bought by a private collector. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York in 1972 and died in London on 17th February 1980. He is buried at the church of St Peter & St Paul at Trottiscliffe, Kent.Graham Sutherland contributed greatly to Modern British Art and his work is found in many private and public collections, including the Courtauld, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Gallery, Northampton, Manchester, Norwich, Southampton, Bristol and Doncaster Museums to mention a small selection. Several books have been written about him as an artist and printmaker. He will be remembered as a painter, etcher and designer, of abstractionism and surrealism and for his great contribution as a war artist. ){kind=link}
Gouache & Crayon on paper
Signed & dated ‘Sutherland/1963’ (upper right)
Titled ‘Opening to a Palm Plantation (on sheet verso)
33 cm x 22 cms (13 x 9 ins)
Provenance
With the Marlborough Gallery, London, where acquired by the family of the present owner and thence by descent
Private Collection UK
“Sutherland’s eye was caught by pomegranates bursting their tough skins, the ripe maize cobs casting off their sheaths of foliage, the delicate undulations of banana leaves, the tough bottle-like gourds and the sinuous vines tying themselves in curves to the framework of the pergola”.
An extract from “The work of Graham Sutherland” by Douglas Cooper, Lund Humphries, London 1961, page 43.
This beautiful gouache and crayon work by Sutherland is almost certainly inspired by the exotic natural scenery and landscape surrounding Sutherland’s beloved home, La Villa Blanche at Menton in the South of France. Sutherland first visited the region in 1947, having visited Paris in 1944 and commented “it was the first time I had been abroad in my life. Before the war I hadn’t been able to afford it and before that I was leading a really insular English life”. He returned to the Midi in the autumn of that year, to visit both Picasso & Matisse. He made this trip every summer until in 1955 when he and his wife Kathleen bought the villa. It was a modernist building echoing Le Corbusier and designed by the Irish architect Eileen Gray. It was named after their home in Kent which was called The White House.
During this period, he adopted a number of mediterranean motifs, particularly the cultivated vegetation of the area and embraced a shift in palette in response to the vivid colours enriched by the sunlight. Sutherland produced several notable works of palm trees, which were reproduced as lithographs and often used for travel publicity for the region. Despite his wealth of a new subject matter, pictures from this period can be considered relatively rare as the body of work produced was not substantial. Sutherland remarked “It has been very lovely down here…in spite of this, I do not seem to have produced much work, although I have been working regularly every day.” The South of France period resulted in some of Sutherland’s happiest days and most vibrant work. He would frequent the Monte Carlo casino with Francis Bacon and regularly saw Picasso who had become a friend and inspiration. It was through his mutual friendship with Kenneth Clark that Sutherland met Somerset Maugham and began work on one of his most famous and vibrant portraits, now in the collection of the Tate Gallery. The inclusion of palm leaves above the sitter’s head is a fitting tribute to a recurring and important motif to Sutherland during this time.
Graham Vivian Sutherland was born in Streatham, London on 24th August 1903. He was the eldest of three children to parents who were both amateur painters and musicians. He attended the Homefield Preparatory School in Sutton and then Epsom College, Surrey until 1919. Following family tradition, he began an engineering apprenticeship at the Midland Railway Locomotive Works in Derby but quickly realised this was not his destiny. He attended the Goldsmiths School of Art in 1921, specialising in engraving and etching until he graduated in 1926. Even as a student, Sutherland exhibited drawings and engravings at the XXI gallery in 1925 and 1928, which provided him with a source of income. His influence was of pastoral subjects from William Blake and Samuel Palmer and he was a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers from 1926 – 1933. He taught engraving at the Chelsea School of Art from 1926. However, the print market collapsed in the early 1930’s due to the Great Depression and Sutherland then started to concentrate on painting. His early works were mainly landscapes and inspired by Paul Nash. He visited Pembrokeshire in 1934 and the area was to profoundly influence his focus on natural forms which often led to his work being of a surreal nature. He exhibited at the International Surrealist Exhibition in London in 1936 and this period secured his reputation as a leading Modern British artist. From 1935 – 1940 he taught composition and book illustration at Chelsea, exhibited at the NEAC 1929 -1933 and with the London Group from 1932. He held his first one-man show at the Paul Rosenberg and Helft Gallery in 1938, mainly showing Welsh landscapes.
As well as oil painting Sutherland took up glass design, fabric design and poster designs. He converted to Catholicism as a young man which resulted in deep religious convictions and his work was often filled with spiritual references. His conversion was in 1926, a year before he married Kathleen Barry who was a fellow student at Goldsmiths College from whom he was inseparable. They lived at various homes in Kent before settling at Trottiscliffe in 1945.
At the start of World War II, the Chelsea School of Art closed and the Sutherlands moved to Tetbury in Gloucestershire. Between 1940 and 1945 Sutherland was employed by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee. He recorded bomb damage in Wales and then damage caused by the Blitz in both Wales and London. This single body of work was called “Devastation”, never disclosed locations or human remains. He completed no less than 150 works.
In 1946 his first New York exhibition was held at the Buchholz Gallery and again in 1948 as a solo exhibition, also at the Hanover Gallery in London. He held a solo show at the Venice Biennale in 1952 which was also shown at the Musee Nationale d’Art Modern in Paris. In 1953 a show at the Arts Council of Great Britain was also shown at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Kunsthaus Zurich and the Tate Gallery in London. Sutherland served as a Trustee of the Tate Gallery from 1948-1954. In 1946 he was commissioned to paint “The Crucifixion” by Walter Hussey, Vicar of St Matthews Church, Northampton, an important patron of modern religious art. He completed the designs for the Coventry Cathedral Tapestry “Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph” between 1954 and 1957, which was installed in 1962 having made nine visits to the weavers in France to complete the work.
Sutherland acquired several patrons in Italy and used to spend his time between Menton and Venice after he purchased his home in Menton. He painted several portraits during this period, famously of Sir Winston Churchill which caused great consternation and was later destroyed by Lady Spencer-Churchill. He was established as an unofficial State Portrait painter by the Queen Mother and received the Order of Merit in 1960. His absence from Britain whilst enjoying sunnier climes, did affect his status here, but towards the end of his life he became inspired once more by the Pembrokeshire landscape and worked regularly in the region again. He exhibited at the Marlborough Gallery in London from where this painting was bought by a private collector. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York in 1972 and died in London on 17th February 1980. He is buried at the church of St Peter & St Paul at Trottiscliffe, Kent.
Graham Sutherland contributed greatly to Modern British Art and his work is found in many private and public collections, including the Courtauld, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Gallery, Northampton, Manchester, Norwich, Southampton, Bristol and Doncaster Museums to mention a small selection. Several books have been written about him as an artist and printmaker. He will be remembered as a painter, etcher and designer, of abstractionism and surrealism and for his great contribution as a war artist.