Peter Lanyon

Corporate Collection, UK

The work is on wove paper which has not been laid down. The very edges of the sheet appear to be slightly dirty, and there are a few spots of surface matter in the lower right corner. The surface of the sheet appears to be in good overall condition. Held under glass in a white rectilinear frame. 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."

Executed in 1954.

Screenprinting had been used commercially for posters, wallpapers and textiles during the 1940s but Lanyon was one of the first to explore artist's screenprinting in Britain in 1947, using the basic method of attaching hand-cut stencils to the back of a gauze screen. In 1951 Lanyon benefited from the training of the American potter, Warren Mackenzie, who had arrived in St Ives with his wife in 1949 to work as apprentices to Bernard Leach and who had practised screenprinting in America. In 1986 Mackenzie recalled how Lanyon 'was looking for a process that did not need the elaborate presses etc of etching and lithography. I knew silkscreening from school and my army work and we set up a studio in the space above what was then the Leach Pottery' (Tate Gallery, Illustrated Catalogue of Aquisitions 1984-6, p.410).

We are grateful to Toby Treves for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.