Patrick Heron

The Redfern Gallery, London, where acquired by Wilfrid A. Evill July 1954 for £175.0.0, by whom bequeathed to Honor Frost in 1963

London, The Redfern Gallery, Patrick Heron New Paintings, 12 May - 5 June 1954, cat. no.4;
Hampstead, The Home of Wilfrid A. Evill, Contemporary Art Society, Catalogue of the Greater Portion of a Collection of Modern English Paintings, Water Colours, Drawings and Sculpture Belonging to W. A. Evill, March 1955, cat. no.114 (as Still Life);
London, The Home of Wilfrid A. Evill, Contemporary Art Society, Pictures, Drawings, Water Colours and Sculpture, April - May 1961, (part IV- section 4) cat. no.13;
Brighton, Brighton Art Gallery, The Wilfrid Evill Memorial Exhibition, June - August 1965, cat. no.54.

The following condition report has been prepared by Hamish Dewar Fine Art Conservation, 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London, SW1Y 6BU: UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The canvas is unlined on what would certainly appear to be the original stretcher. The canvas is a little slack and ideally the stretcher-keys should be tightened but the overall structural condition is excellent and stable. Paint surface The paint surface would appear to have a film of surface dirt and cleaning should be beneficial. No retouchings are visible under ultra-violet light. Summary The painting therefore appears to be in excellent and stable condition and the only work that might be required is the tightening of the stretcher-keys.
"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."

With delicate, flowing lines and vivid blocks of colour, The Blue Table with Window: 1954 displays the hallmarks of Heron's wonderfully dynamic interior scenes of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Although in this period Heron is referred to as a figurative painter, before the development of his wholly non-figurative works from 1956, Heron nevertheless recalls how these paintings felt 'terribly abstract.' To the British public at the time Heron's works were revolutionary, drawing upon developments on the Continent, in particular the work of Matisse, Bonnard and Braque, of which the home audience was largely unaware. Yet Heron, at the forefront within his artistic peers, had long been absorbing and championing their innovative methods, in particular Matisse's radical deployment of colour, line and form. He wrote that Matisse's The Red Studio, which he had seen at the Redfern Gallery in 1943, was 'by far and away the most influential single painting in my entire career.' Such works went beyond a simple recording of the visual appearance of things, what Heron called 'the camera eye', and expressed a sensuality and rhythm to which he was deeply predisposed. Only through the abstract harmony of colour and form did Heron believe the 'profoundest human thought and feeling [could] find direct expression.' To this end, Braque's magisterial Atelier interiors which Heron encountered first-hand on a visit to the artist's studio in 1949 also provided rich inspiration, in particular the idea of the 'transparency' of objects through continuous and overlapping lines.

Drawing upon such influences, by the 1950s Heron had created a personal abstract-figurative idiom evident in seminal interiors such as Harbour Window with Two Figures, St Ives: July 1950 (Tate, London). The Blue Table with Window: 1954 develops from these works and relates to a series of upturned table-top interiors Heron painted about this time. Form, space and volume are evoked through independent patches of bright, flat, non-representational colour and delicate, winding lines. Describing Matisse's The Red Studio, Heron spoke of its own 'wonderful wandering lines,' which is equally apt here. They irresistibly lead the eye across the surface and possess a delightful spontaneity in harmony with the planes of pure colour. Blues, reds and pinks create the space of the room, whilst the dense inky blackness of the window masterfully brings inside the night-time world beyond. Pictorial space was a fundamental concern for Heron, and one he continually explored. In the present work, the distortion of perspective and flatness of the planes forcefully engages the viewer, bringing the objects into immediate proximity - a method Braque championed, believing art should bring the viewer and object together to offer 'the full experience of space.'

The Blue Table with Window: 1954 was painted at Addison Avenue, Heron's London flat before moving to Cornwall. Under his hand, the day to day objects are transformed; given a poeticism through his use of line and colour, seen in the fish or the candle - its flame animating the composition with the most minimal of gestures. A central creed of Heron's was that art is to be joyful and in The Blue Table with Window: 1954, colour and line combine to infuse the work with an unabashed gaiety.

We are grateful to Susanna Heron for her kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work. The Patrick Heron Estate is preparing the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the Artist's work and would like to hear from owners of any work by the Artist so that these can be included in this comprehensive catalogue. Please write to Susanna Heron, c/o Sotheby's 20th Century British Art, 34-35 New Bond Street, London, W1A 2AA.