Keith Vaughan

The Estate of the Artist
The Grafton Gallery, London
Private Collection
Sale, Phillips London, 24th March 1997, lot 76, where acquired by the present owner

Unexamined out of frame. The sheet appears sound, with deckled edges, in keeping with the nature of the artist's materials. There is minor cockling to the sheet. There is a small crease and spot of tiny possible loss to the gouache in the extreme tip of the upper right hand corner. There are slight traces of very minor studio detritus, but this excepting the work appears in excellent overall condition. Housed behind glass in a thin gilt wooden frame, float-mounted within a cream card mount. Unexamined out of frame. Please contact the department on +44 (0) 207 294 6424 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."

Vaughan had visited Greece and Morocco and the groups of bathers and figures gathering on the beach in the early evenings had inspired him. His style and technique became gradually sparser while the impact of his imagery became more forceful. The assembled figures are described in bold outlines and dramatic silhouettes. Vaughan’s economical combination of Indian ink, gouache and oil pastel is typical of his work of this time. It is extraordinary that he conveys so much with just a few strokes of the brush and so a limited palette. The forms are locked into a tight configuration, as limbs reach out to the very edge of the composition, as if to steady themselves. This quality in his picture making was crucial to Vaughan:

Now this orderliness, which is common to all true works of art, is not something which can be imposed from outside, like a mould. It is more like the orderliness of a piece of machinery in which each part works together with every other. A painting is like that when the artist has translated his experience, his material, correctly into the language of visual forms, and made the image as true as possible to his own feelings and convictions: that is to say a true expression of what it’s like to be alive at this moment. (Keith Vaughan, Keith Vaughan: Painter, a documentary for Granada Television, transmitted on October 19, 1962).

We are grateful to Gerard Hastings who’s new book, Paradise Found and Lost: Keith Vaughan in Essex, has just been is published by Pagham Press, for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.