Snow Path Between Two Logs by David Holt (1974)

An original watercolour, mounted by not framed

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Printing Details

Painted in January 1974, this is a watercolour and ink on card. The image has been double mounted. The whole measures 30.5 × 19.5cm.

In this study, David Holt utilizes watercolour and ink to explore contrasting natural textures. The work features a central snowy path, rendered with a brightness that cuts through the composition, set against the dark, finely detailed ink-work of the bark on either side. By isolating these elements, David creates a sense of forced perspective, using the fluidity of the medium to draw the viewer toward the 'void' of the night sky—a sophisticated exploration of transition and natural geometry.

Signed lower right, and signed and titled to the reverse.

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, it would probably benefit from being remounted and framed, but remains an attractive and enigmatic watercolour.

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