Page 47 - Studio International - August 1965

1 dominated by his impressions of the landscape seen Giorgione. Cezanne. Braque, Turner. Constable, and
Dri 1961
Oil on Canvas from the air, by the interplay of light and atmosphere, Wilson were joined in the time of the unfolding of his
5 3½ ft. sunshine, clouds and rain. Elements of the plane con­ Expressionist style by the late Rembrandt. Munch,
C Sarah and
Bowness. London struction and of instruments entered into the composi­ Rouault and Soutine. But de Stael, Soulage, Appel,
tion of his pictures besides linear elements which de Kooning, Pollock and Motherwell also meant a great
2
1951 indicated the flight itself, whereas the emotional deal to him. So he found himself in the midst of a living
Oil on Canvas
C Tate Gallery London quality of these paintings was expressive of the process with its give and take. which shaped him into
exhilaration which he thus experienced. Like Alkyone. that strong artistic personality that he was.
he was struck by the Gods, he suffered the fate of To understand this artist's method and approach, let
young Icarus. us now describe one picture and develop its story. It is
In 1960 Peter Lanyon completed his first monumental one of his masterpieces now belonging to the Tate
work, an enamel tile mural for the Civic Engineering Gallery in London: Porth/even.
Building of Liverpool University on the theme 'The Con­ Porth I even is one of the many small ports of Cornwall.
flict of Man with Tides and Sands'. In 1963 the mural a shelter for the fisherman. the harbour where he begins
in oil paint for the Faculty of Arts Building, Birmingham his work and where he returns again after his unceasing
University, was accomplished. Being concerned with struggle with the sea for his livelihood-a womb of
movement. references to air and water as well as nature. The artist will first go there trying to comprehend
journeys across country are dominant in it. There are it in all its complexity, he will make drawings on the
also arrested actions analogous to rock formation in spot. quick sketches of the different aspects of the
which a process in time is revealed at the surface. harbour: the pier with its row of buildings, ending with
Peter Lanyon was deeply rooted in tradition. The the coast-guard tower and the clock on the left-hand
masters whom he admired most. Piero della Francesca, side; the inner harbour itself with its peace and the
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