William Crozier, H.R.H.A. (1930-2011)

This is a strong example of William Crozier's work of 1959-60, executed when he was part of the advanced group of British and European artists showing at the Drian and Arthur Tooth & Sons galleries in London. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Crozier's abstract work invariably had its source in the landscape. In this painting his concern with the existential 'act' of painting reflects his interest at the time in American abstract expressionism and in particular his admiration for the work of his fellow Scot, Alan Davie, whose North London studio he first visited in 1954 and whose manner of painting, using intuition and chance, was a revelation to him. K.C.