Fight on the Marshes; Assembly of Figures

Vaughan was occasionally drawn to subject matter that contained physical violence or the immanent threat of it (Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, 1958, Landscape with Gang of Boys, 1959). Indeed he was a great fan of boxing and made several paintings of pugilists. His journals frequently record threatening youths he encountered on the underground or in Leicester Square and also intimidating figures he passed in the street. Several groups of drawings from the late 1950s and early 1960s represent violent situations, either in ritualistic encounters or, as in the present work, in public brawls.
G.H.