Lot 78
78
Sir Lawrence Gowing, A.R.A. (1918-1991)
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more
Sir Lawrence Gowing, A.R.A. (1918-1991)

Self portrait in Oakleigh Avenue

Details
Sir Lawrence Gowing, A.R.A. (1918-1991)
Self portrait in Oakleigh Avenue
signed and inscribed 'Self-Portrait,/by/Lawrence Gowing' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas-board
8¾ x 11 in. (22.2 x 28 cm.)
Painted in 1936.
Provenance
Raymond Mortimer.
Exhibited
Lewes, Miller's, An Exhibition of Portraits, June-July 1943, no. 14.
London, Serpentine Gallery, Lawrence Gowing, March-August 1983, no. 2: this exhibition toured to Newcastle, Hatton Gallery; Hull, Ferens Art Gallery and Plymouth, City Art Gallery.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

'In my bedroom at home in Oakleigh Park, I leaned moodily against the door, brooding on what a miserable state it was to be eighteen and to admire every artist but oneself, when I looked in the mirror hanging opposite and noticed that the black of the stained wood I was leaning against infused the colour of my jacket, hair and eyes to abolish the separateness of things. It made my situation paintable. I fetched paints and took the same position again, but slyly this time to recapture the effect, and surprised myself by painting it' (Exhibition catalogue, Lawrence Gowing, London, Serpentine Gallery, 1983, p. 11).

More from 20th Century British Art including the Collection of the

View All
View All