William Turnbull

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

The canvas is in good original condition. The paint surface is in good overall condition. There is no sign of retouching under ultra-violet light. Unframed. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Although Turnbull is rightly seen as one of the foremost sculptors of his generation, painting has formed an integral part of his career, and throughout it he has found periods when painting has been his prime concern. Thus we are offered the unusual situation of an artist for whom a particular and important element of his oeuvre is closely fitted to very specific times.

In 1957 Turnbull had produced a group of paintings which were executed in very thickly applied monochrome paint, and in fact slightly predate Robert Ryman's explorations in a similar vein.  However, this led to a further group which introduced further colours to activate the painting. After Turnbull's 1973 Tate Gallery retrospective, the artist looked at painting once more and the group of canvases that form this later body of work and to which 6-1976 belongs once more embrace the possibilities of using single colours. Whilst many of the earlier paintings had been predominantly of one single colour, they frequently include a simple strip of a contrasting colour. However, the paintings of the 1976-77 period remove this element and it is only on close inspection that it becomes clear that the presence that these works possess as monoliths of colour is in fact the illusion built by the application of several layers of subtly different colours within the same range, the whole then enlivened by the application of the paint itself.