Flooded Landscape, Essex

Vaughan was fascinated by the way in which light, atmosphere and climate had the power to transform and alter the appearances of familiar scenes. The titles of many of his paintings, for example, inform us of the precise month in which they were painted, as though to emphasise that the seasons and weather conditions had made their mark on the landscape. Here the rich brown and umber palette, combined with creams and blues, conveys qualities of an autumn day. The upper part of the composition, containing tilted forms and blocked-in shapes indicates, perhaps, the presence of a coppice and a group of buildings. The lower section, occupying almost half of the painted surface, is virtually devoid of pictorial incident. However, beneath the surface of pale pigment, we can still detect forms, overpainted with washes and translucent coatings – an appropriate equivalent of a flood. As if to emphasise this point, Vaughan has used diluted, thinned-out paint so his brush marks are evident and the occasional watery dribble, trickles down the surface of the canvas.

We are very grateful to Gerard Hastings, whose forthcoming book Keith Vaughan: The Graphic Art, is soon to be published by Pagham Press, for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.