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Lot 249
JOHN MINTON (1917-1957)
Portrait of a man
Closed19 October 2023
Estimate
GBP 5,000–8,000
More Information
Specialist note
We are very grateful to Frances Spalding for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
The present drawing has historically been identified as a self-portrait, and although Minton's features are more slight than those of this sitter, the following description of Minton echoes this sitter's features: 'The scarecrow figure with its loping, fevered stride, head down, chin stuck into chest, every fibre intent on getting wherever he was bound; the lantern face under the shock of hair, its extraordinary gravity in repose and its total re-creation in gaiety; the exuberant clowning into which was channeled, increasingly and defensively, a perpetual crackle of nervous energy' (Michael Middleton, exhibition catalogue, John Minton 1917-1957, London, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1958, p. 4).
The present drawing has historically been identified as a self-portrait, and although Minton's features are more slight than those of this sitter, the following description of Minton echoes this sitter's features: 'The scarecrow figure with its loping, fevered stride, head down, chin stuck into chest, every fibre intent on getting wherever he was bound; the lantern face under the shock of hair, its extraordinary gravity in repose and its total re-creation in gaiety; the exuberant clowning into which was channeled, increasingly and defensively, a perpetual crackle of nervous energy' (Michael Middleton, exhibition catalogue, John Minton 1917-1957, London, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1958, p. 4).