Robert Colquhoun
Studies of Man with Arms Raised
c.1935

About the Item

Charcoal on paper, 56cm x 38cm, (79cm x 60cm framed). Provenance: The Artist’s sister. From the mid-1940s to the early 1950s Colquhoun was considered one of the leading artists of his generation. Along with that of Robert MacBryde, another artist and Colquhoun’s partner, his work was regularly shown at the Lefevre Gallery in London. This early work is likely to be a drawing from when Colquhoun was at the Glasgow School of Art in the 1930s. Known as the ‘Two Roberts’, Colquhoun and MacBryde met at the Glasgow School of Art in 1932 and lived together until Colquhoun’s death in 1962. The pair also exhibited in several group shows at the Lefevre Gallery, including one in February 1946, alongside Ben Nicholson, Graham Sutherland, Bacon and Freud. Works were bought by the Arts Council, the British Council, the Contemporary Art Society and the Imperial War Museum. Major art patrons added their work to their collections, including Sir Kenneth Clark, art historian, one time Director of the National Gallery and Keeper of the King's Pictures. In 1948, the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, purchased works from the new wave of British artists; they selected Francis Bacon, Edward Burra, Lucian Freud, Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde. Since their deaths, in later years, they have rightfully been recognised as two of the most influential artists of their generation, rather than simply as fixtures in the bohemian London post-war art scene. A major exhibition of their work, 'The Two Roberts: Colquhoun and MacBryde' was held at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2015.

Creator:

Robert Colquhoun (1914 - 1962, Scottish)

Creation Year:

c.1935

Dimensions:

Height: 31.11 in (79 cm)Width: 23.63 in (60 cm)Depth: 1.19 in (3 cm)

Medium:

Paper,Charcoal

Movement & Style:

Post-War

Period:

1930-1939