Portland Trio

Throughout his career John Piper was periodically drawn to the distinctive seaside and industrial landscapes of Portland Bill, a rocky mass which juts out from England's Dorset coast: this spartan and angular locality became a subject which he made his own. Many of the best paintings date from the early to mid 1950s. A dozen or so, including the present lot, were exhibited in 1955 at the Curt Valentin Gallery, New York. The three scenes in Portland Trio, which relate to different vistas taken from the same viewpoint, were selected from a distinct series of finished, mixed media studies which feature in one of John Piper's 1949/1950 sketchbooks (private collection).

We are very grateful to Rev. Dr Stephen Laird FSA for preparing this catalogue entry.