WILLIAM SCOTT, R.A. (1913-1989)

In his work of the 1970s, Scott returned to the familiar kitchen objects that had informed his art for decades, the simple pan, pot and utensils from his Belfast childhood. Scott brings an unusual luxury to these functional objects as they hang before the viewer in this expansive composition in vibrant tones of bright cobalt blue and creamy white. The carefully positioned objects and the restrained application of the gouache has created a work of lyrical beauty, both sensuous and severe in equal measure. The limited colour palette has been used to maximum effect within a carefully considered abstract composition.

Jonathan Benington has commented of Scott’s work within the still life tradition, that he seeks to ‘to carry us into the unfamiliar territory that lies beyond the clutter of the millions of visual images that bombard our consciousness every second of the day’ (J. Benington, William Scott: Simplicity and Subject, Bath, 2013, p. 9).