Live Auction 763720th Century British Art
Graham Sutherland, O.M. (1903-1980)
Lot 65

Graham Sutherland, O.M. (1903-1980)

The Origins of the Land, Study No. 3

Closed12 December 2008

Price Realised

GBP 10,000

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Graham Sutherland, O.M. (1903-1980)
The Origins of the Land, Study No. 3
signed and dated 'Sutherland 50' (lower left)
chalk, gouache and pencil, lightly squared for transfer
3¾ x 7 in. (9.5 x 17.7 cm.)

with Redfern Gallery, London, where purchased by Guy Rodden, 8 December 1952.
with Piccadilly Gallery, London.
with Marlborough Fine Art, London.
with Galeria d'Arte Galatea, Turin.
with Offer Waterman & Co., London.

Specialist note


Sutherland's oil painting The Origins of the Land, 1950-1, measuring 167½ x 129 in., was commissioned for the 'Land' pavilion at the Festival of Britain in 1951. It was purchased by the Arts Council of Great Britain and presented to the Tate Gallery in 1952. The display in the pavilion focused on the geological history of Britain, and Sutherland's painting appears to show root-like forms beneath the earth. A bird appears on the right of the composition, whose appearance is reminiscent of a prehistoric animal. The present lot and lot 68 are amongst a group of studies Sutherland made for this painting.