Keith Vaughan

Robert Banks
George Millman (by 1962)
His Sale, Sotheby's, London, 1^st November 1967, lot 187 (as Theseus), where acquired by the present owners

London, Festival of Britain, 60 for 51, cat. no.52, illustrated in the catalogue pl.37;
Newcastle, Hatton Gallery, Keith Vaughan, 1956, and subsequent tour;
London, Whitechapel Gallery, Keith Vaughan: Retrospective Exhibition, March - April 1962, cat. no.122, illustrated in the catalogue pl.XXIII (as Theseus);
Sheffield, City Art Galleries, Exhibition of 25 Paintings from 1951, 17^th May - 2^nd July, 1978, cat. no.24;
On long-term loan to University of Sussex, March 1970 - February 1991.

John Ball et al., Keith Vaughan: Images of Man - Figurative Paintings 1946-60, ILEA, London 1981, p.29, illustrated pl.11b (as Theseus and the Minotaur);
Malcom Yorke, Keith Vaughan: His Life and Work, Constable & Co.Ltd, London 1990, pp.146-7 & 151.

The canvas undulates slightly in the upper right corner. There are two small patches on the reverse which correspond to areas of retouching and repair. There are a few tiny specks of paint loss and small abrasions in places across the paint surface. Examination under ultra-violet light reveals scattered small areas of retouching including: two small areas to the left of the central figure's head; a small spot over an indentation in the top right corner and a short horizontal line across the seated figure's crossed leg (corresponding to the main patch). 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.
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Although originally titled Interior at Minos for the Festival of Britain, Vaughan later reconsidered the title, which he explained fully in a letter written shortly before his death.

The first thing to say about the painting was that it was wrongly titled owing to my lack of classical scholarship. I was under the impression that Minos was an island instead of the name of a king. The painting should be called Theseus or Theseus and the Minotaure.
It was suggested by André Gide's novel Thésée in which the Minotaure is depicted not as the horned monster of classical anthropology but as a misunderstood youth who spends his time in the Labyrinth eating pomegranates and picking the petals off flowers. The contrast between Theseus and the Minotaure, according to Gide, was a contest of 'volupte'.
The 3 characters in the painting are Theseus, the Minotaure, and Ariadne, who is seated with her back turned to the whole affair.
I would be grateful if you would catalogue the painting as Theseus and the Minotaure. (the artist, in correspondence with James Hamilton)

This elucidation makes the relationship between the figures in the painting rather less obscure, and especially the contrast between the central figure of the Minotaure and Theseus standing in shadow behind. The figure of the Minotaure is derived from a slightly earlier painting, the Reclining Nude (Private Collection), although here Vaughan accentuates elements such as the angle of the neck and head, and the sweep of the arm draped over the edge of the chaise to enhance the almost provocatively languid pose.

The exhibition '60 for 51' at the Festival of Britain, in which Theseus and the Minotaure was first shown, was rather a curate's egg. Intended as a showcase of painters working at that time, the main stipulation was that each work measured at least 45 x 60" and the Arts Council, who organised the exhibition, undertook to provide the canvases as required by the artists. The final selection of artists to be included (only 54 of the 60 actually showed) is a curious mixture of predominently figurative work across many themes with a much smaller element of abstraction, but a browse through the catalogue at over fifty years distance shows a core of paintings which are of the highest quality, including Freud's Interior at Paddington (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), Lanyon's Porthleven (Tate Collection), Pasmore's The Snowstorm: Spiral Motif in Black and White (Arts Council Collection), Scott's Still Life (Private Collection) and the present work. Vaughan was also commissioned to create a huge mural for the Dome of Discovery at the Festival (destroyed after the event), a large-scale study for which was sold in these rooms 17th November 2004, lot no.82.