Thorn Cross

In the spring of 1954 Sutherland revived his interest in the motif of the thorn tree, a theme that he had developed extensively in 1945. He went on a walk on a high mountain behind Monte Carlo, overlooking Pielle. On a plateau in a declivity in the ground he found very tightly compact minature bushes growing close to the ground. He started drawings, some in a vague cross form, and continued to develop this theme in watercolour and oil, resulting in the large format Thorn Tree (private collection, London) in 1954 and Thorn Form (Sao Paulo Museum, Brazil) in 1955.
(see R. Alley, Graham Sutherland, Tate Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, 1982, p.108).