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| Renato Guttoso Still Life in the Studio 1962 ink and watercolour on paper Tate Gallery |
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| Patrick Heron Green and Purple Painting with Blue Disc: May 1960 1960 oil paint on canvas Tate Gallery |
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| Barbara Hepworth Maquette, Three Forms in Echelon 1961 bronze Tate Gallery |
"This work relates to Barbara Hepworth's proposals for a public sculpture on the John Lewis Department Store in Oxford Street, London. She worked on the proposal for six months in 1961. Despite Hepworth's considerable care, her proposal was rejected. The John Lewis Building was designed by Slater and Uren Architects and begun in 1956 in order to replace the old building bombed in the war. Large walls clad in Portland stone adjoin each end of the main frontage, and these were identified as sites for decoration. When construction began Jacob Epstein was approached to make a design for the west facade, but he declined through pressure of work. When O.B. Miller made his invitation to Hepworth in May 1961 he specified that it was her monumental Meridian that prompted the approach. Hepworth accepted the following day. "I am convinced, from an abstract point of view, that the Three Forms in Echelon with radiating strings rising upwards is my interpretation of the John Lewis Partnership, its Members and the Public." . . . Hepworth was understandably deflated by Miller's response. After consulting a colleague, he wrote: "To neither of us does the design seem to integrate successfully with the building, nor to create the impression of an organic unity that will be recognised by people qualified to judge as an outstanding example of your work." This stimulated a lengthy, point by point defence of the work. Hepworth stated "I would like to say that I think the forms would be a very good foil to the building," and suggested that the result was "an illusion of light and space, as well as thrusting forms and curves which would work when looking upwards at the building – when naturally the forms begin to blend one with the other." Finally, Hepworth believed it typical of her work: "The way I work, is to get an idea subconsciously and then pursue that formally, with quite a considerable belief, within myself, that the formal content will speak back to the public. In this case, the harmony and relationship of the three rising forms, would, I suspect, provoke some interest subconsciously in the harmonious relationship that exists in the Partnership." However stout the defence, it was to no avail and Three Forms in Echelon was rejected. Two days later, Hepworth took up the proposal suggested by Miller of an alternative derived from an existing work, specifically mentioning Winged Figure. . . . Winged Figure, which constituted the ninth proposal for the building, was accepted almost immediately. The plaster was unveiled in St. Ives in August 1962 and the cast was installed on the building in Oxford Street on Sunday, 21 April, 1963, almost two years after the original invitation." Although the building of Winged Figure was a substantial undertaking, the sculptor herself acknowledged that the rejection of Three Forms in Echelon was "rather a shock."
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| Barbara Hepworth Maquette, Three Forms in Echelon 1961 brass and string on wooden board Tate Gallery |
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| Paul Feiler Inclined Oval Brown 1964-65 oil paint on canvas Tate Gallery |
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| Paul Feiler Vertical Reflections Blue early 1960s oil paint on canvas Tate Gallery |
"While maintaining Feiler's characteristically cool and modulated colouring, Vertical Reflections, Blue comes from a group of works in which the artist explored the working environment of the studio. The abstracted forms ultimately derive from familiar studio items such as stretchers, easels and mirrors. These elements are overlaid and interlocked to form a structured composition."
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| Bernard Cohen Floris 1964 oil paint and tempera on canvas Tate Gallery |
"This painting was named after the Soho patisserie whose skilled decorations Cohen admired. It was also inspired by the 'enclosed' world of the Arthurian legends. Cohen first painted the small land towards the top left, then emphasized its perimeter, first by highlighting it with white dots and then by surrounding it with ever-wider echoing contours in red overpainted with black. The outermost of these were reinforced by 'spokes'. Isolated clusters of incident were then painted in the remaining areas, the largest being a mass of dark line. Finally, Cohen continued, over these, the ever-expanding contours generated by the first shape, before ending the painting in the centre of the spiral at upper right."
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| Morris Louis Alpha-Phi 1961 acrylic paint on canvas Tate Gallery |
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| Jasper Johns 0 through 9 1961 oil paint on canvas Tate Gallery |
"0 through 9 was made by Johns in 1961 when he was living in New York. This large work, rendered in distinct areas of red, blue and golden yellow, presents the viewer with the numerical figures 0-9, each scaled to fill the whole canvas and superimposed over one another, such that while each number is visible, it is difficult to discern them individually. It is one of a series of twelve works by the artist, some produced in editions. In total, there are five paintings in the series the same size as the Tate work, including one made using a grey monochrome technique known as grisaille. Johns also made three smaller paintings on paper, a metallic relief, a pastel and a lithograph."
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| Victor Pasmore Black Abstract 1963 oil paint on board Tate Gallery |
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| Norman Reid Mr. Pencil at Annestown 1960-81 oil paint on canvas, mounted on board Tate Gallery |
"Annestown is a village on the Irish coast. In this painting it is seen from the beach. In the centre, the main street runs uphill between buildings. A striped lighthouse stands out against the coastline beyond. Developed from a gouache made on the spot in 1952, this composition was greatly modified when the artist decided to make it read equally well with either of its two longer edges at the top. Although this aim was realised, the original orientation is the only one he now approves. The first two words of the title refer to a character made fun of in a cartoon of 1830 by Randolphe Toepffer. There 'Monsieur Pencil' is an artist who, after making a drawing from nature, is pleased with it both ways up."
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| Ben Nicholson Feb. 1960 (ice-off-blue) 1961 oil paint on board Tate Gallery |
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| Frank Roth Jodrell Bank 1964 acrylic paint and oil paint on canvas Tate Gallery |
"The artist wrote: 'I had never heard of Jodrell Bank [the famous radio telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire] until my painting was completed. I was showing the painting to a friend, and he remarked that the painting looked like a photograph in that day's New York Times. He showed me the photograph, which I liked and it resembled my painting and I liked the name, so that is how the title came about.'"
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| Jean-Pierre Yvaral Ambiguous Structure No. 92 1969 acrylic paint on chipboard Tate Gallery |
"Jean-Pierre Vasarely, known as Yvaral, was born in Paris in 1934, the second son of the artist Victor Vasarely. After studying advertising and graphic design at the École des Art Appliqués in Paris, he began to experiment with geometric abstraction in 1954. Yvaral's optical paintings, kinetic reliefs and screenprints explored the illusion of movement. The swelling, warping patterns on this canvas are typical of his approach. Yvaral began to experiment with colour composition in 1968, after working exclusively in black and white from 1960. His optical experiments, achieved with mathematical grids, connect with contemporary interests in new technologies as well as developments in optical science. However, the title complicates any sense of positivist knowledge, with the adjective 'ambiguous' suggesting something open to interpretation, as well as highlighting the contradiction of employing a logical system to create a trompe l'oeil effect."
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| Bryan Wynter Meander I 1967 oil paint on canvas Tate Gallery |