Lot 10
10
Craigie Aitchison, R.A. (b. 1926)
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more PROPERTY FROM THE ERICH SOMMER COLLECTION Over a period of more than twenty years Erich Sommer (1921-2004) sought out some of the best examples of 20th Century British Art, the result of which is a highly personal group of pictures and sculpture, which embraces the diversity and richness of this field. Sommer was drawn to collecting art later in his life. In acquiring his collection from select London galleries, he displayed enthusiasm for and understanding of, 20th Century British Art, not least in the variety of artists represented. Following on from successful sales in 2005, Christie's is delighted to be offering the following eight final lots from this collection.
Craigie Aitchison, R.A. (b. 1926)

Portrait of Alan McNaught

Details
Craigie Aitchison, R.A. (b. 1926)
Portrait of Alan McNaught
oil on canvas
29½ x 24½ in. (75 x 62.2 cm.)
Painted in 1969.
Provenance
with Marlborough Fine Art, London.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Lot Essay

Painted in 1969, the present work is typical of Aitchison's portraits. The sitter, Alan McNaught, is portrayed looking out to one side, his face in part-profile with the background painted in a striking block of colour. Andrew Lambirth comments, 'Aitchison doesn't aim for a psychological portrait, although he is generally rather good at obtaining a likeness. As he says: 'In a portrait you're trying to get the person opposite you onto the canvas. If I could, I would trace them'. He tries to avoid commissions, partly because these tend to be of white sitters whom he has more difficulty painting. Individual features or limbs may not be painted with the greatest attention to detail or with anything like anatomical accuracy, but the whole works convincingly because of Aitchison's instinctive and uncanny understanding of shape and how colours behave next to dark skin. Hairstyles can give the key to a picture, as can the cut of a cap of a sou'wester' (Exhibition catalogue, Craigie Aitchison: Out of the Ordinary, London, Royal Academy, 2003, p. 17).

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