Lot Essay
The present work and lot 132 are examples of Hilton's last years of using the medium of oil in his work. With his permanent move to Cornwall in 1965, Hilton's output slowed and in 1972 he turned exclusively to gouache and poster paints as a painting medium due to ill health. Despite spending time in prison and periods 'drying out' at St Lawrence's hospital, his reputation as an artist was growing at this time and in 1968 he received an M.B.E.
Of this period Lambirth comments: 'In many ways Hilton was at the top of his career, and the height of his fame. His work had actually reached its peak by now, and public taste was busy catching up with his remarkable achievement' (A. Lambirth, Roger Hilton, The Figured Language of Thought, London, 2007, p. 204).
During the late 1960s, Hilton explored the dialogue between abstraction and figuration. His works during this period shifted between totally abstract compositions and figurative works. Even in the present work which does not obviously refer directly to the human body, one can discern Hilton exploring the boundaries between abstraction and figuration in his use of curves hinting at body-like shapes. Hilton remarked in 1961 'Abstraction in itself is nothing. It is only a step towards a new figuration, that is one which is more true' (R. Hilton, 'Remarks about Painting', Roger Hilton, Zurich, 1961, unpaginated).
Of this period Lambirth comments: 'In many ways Hilton was at the top of his career, and the height of his fame. His work had actually reached its peak by now, and public taste was busy catching up with his remarkable achievement' (A. Lambirth, Roger Hilton, The Figured Language of Thought, London, 2007, p. 204).
During the late 1960s, Hilton explored the dialogue between abstraction and figuration. His works during this period shifted between totally abstract compositions and figurative works. Even in the present work which does not obviously refer directly to the human body, one can discern Hilton exploring the boundaries between abstraction and figuration in his use of curves hinting at body-like shapes. Hilton remarked in 1961 'Abstraction in itself is nothing. It is only a step towards a new figuration, that is one which is more true' (R. Hilton, 'Remarks about Painting', Roger Hilton, Zurich, 1961, unpaginated).