Michael Ayrton (1921-1975)

'As he developed the story of Daedalus and Icarus, visually and in words, so he simultaneously explored the landscape of their endeavours which he identified as the internal and external manifestations of Gaia, the Earth Mother. The external landscapes range from brilliant greens to burnt red and ambers of parched summer' (see Exhibition catalogue, Michael Ayrton: Sculpture, paintings, drawings, prints, London, Austin Desmond Fine Art, 1990, p. 31).