PATRICK HERON (1920-1999)
PATRICK HERON (1920-1999)
PATRICK HERON (1920-1999)
PATRICK HERON (1920-1999)
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Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's… Read more
PATRICK HERON (1920-1999)

YELLOW OVAL (BROWN) : OCTOBER 1959

Details
PATRICK HERON (1920-1999)
YELLOW OVAL (BROWN) : OCTOBER 1959
signed, inscribed and dated 'PATRICK/HERON/YELLOW/OVAL/(BROWN)/OCTOBER/1959' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
29 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. (75.6 x 121.3 cm.)
Painted in October 1959.
Provenance
with Waddington Galleries, London, 1989.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 11 July 2013, lot 237, where purchased by the present owner.
Exhibited
Manchester, City Art Gallery, Middle Roads - 4 British Abstract Painters, June - July 1961, no. 11, catalogue not traced.
Edinburgh, Richard Demarco Gallery, Patrick Heron Retrospective, June - July 1967, no. 61.
London, Richard Green, Patrick Heron: The Shape of Colour, May 2006, no. 7.
Special notice
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. This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Brought to you by

Alice Murray
Alice Murray Head of Evening Sale

Lot Essay

Amongst the many remarkable features of Heron's career was his ability to continually develop and renew his paintings so that each appears both fresh and adventurous.

Throughout the 1950s, discernible groupings of work had succeeded each other, and by the very end of the decade, paintings such as Yellow Painting: October 1958 - May/June 1959 (Tate Collection, London) had achieved a complexity and richness that constantly amaze. However, Heron's work rarely settles at any point, and as 1959 progressed, the paintings began to become simpler again, with reduced numbers of forms, and little overpainting and re-working. Initially this happened through one colour becoming dominant and steadily encroaching upon the others. As the numbers of forms lessened, so the layering of colours also diminishes, and we can see the introduction of different handling techniques.

We are very grateful to Susanna Heron and Andrew Wilson for assisting in the preparation of this catalogue entry. The Patrick Heron Trust is in the process of researching the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work and would like to hear from owners of any works by Patrick Heron, so that these can be included in this comprehensive catalogue. Please write to The Patrick Heron Trust, c/o Christie's Modern British Art Department, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT, or email at mclothier@christies.com.

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