"About my thorn pictures, I can only give a clue, since the process of becoming involved with one's subject is always mysterious and not easy to explain...I had been thinking of the Crucifixion...my mind became preoccupied with the idea of thorns (the crown of thorns) and wounds made by thorns.

Then on going into the country I began to notice thorn trees and bushes. Especially against the sky, the thorns on the branches established a limit of aerial space. They were like dividers pricking out points in space in all direction, encompassing the air, as if it were solid and tangible." (letter from Graham Sutherland to Curt Valentin, Jan. 24, 1946; printed in the introduction to the 1946 Buchholz Gallery exhibition catalogue)


Two drawings in one lot (2)