Original abstract expressionist oil painting, framed
Range 4: Range Window View by David Holt (1970)
Author
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Printing Details
Painted in May 1970, this is an oil on board with pencil details in a wooden frame (but not glazed). The frame measures 49 × 49cm and the painting is 45 × 45cm.
This is a work of abstract expressionism. It was inspired by the Hythe Ranges in Kent, an area on the coast used by the army for rifle practice. It depicts partial brick walls and huts with fencing, and the horizon being both near along the base and in the distance, where David has also added one of the sound mirrors, the concrete constructions along the Kent coast developed in the inter-war years to detect incoming enemy planes. This can be seen in the green hills of the middle distant to the right of the main grey brick structure.
Signed and dated lower right, titled to the rear.
David Holt (1928–2014). Born in Hythe, Kent. Painter and Lecturer in Art. After National Service, he trained at the Canterbury School of Art, the Hammersmith School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools where he was awarded a medal for drawing and the Knapping Prize. He joined a studio-workshop with Gerald Holtom (designer of the CND symbol) in 1958 where he designed and produced proscenium curtains for schools. In 1958 he was awarded a Harkness Fellowship and travelled across America, producing many drawings and prints of the Pueblo Indians and their life-dance in Santa Fe in New Mexico, where he also worked with artist Agnes Sims. He returned to England in 1960 and continued to paint and work on large textile appliques for schools, churches, and private houses including Spade House in Kent, the former home of H G Wells.
He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1962, and in 1964 was commissioned to design and make a large textile applique 'Christ in Majesty' which still hangs in the chapel of Christ Church College in Canterbury.
He was Head of Art at Canterbury Christ Church University until his retirement in 1995. He exhibited widely in the UK and the States and worked with many art societies and summer schools across East Kent.
His work can be found in both private and public collections throughout the UK and America, including the Yale Centre for British Art. His painting "Coastal Watcher" was recently used for the dustwrapper on Modernism and Memory: Rhoda Pritzker and the Art of Collecting (Yale University Press, 2016).
Condition
Good condition. There is some age-related discoloration to the frame's outer-edge, and some small spotted marks to the painting, with some surface abrasion and darkening but on the whole it remains in good condition and is visually arresting.
Price
£150.00
