PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE PETER ADAM (LOTS 28-36)
KEITH VAUGHAN (BRITISH, 1912-1977)
Grey Seated Figure
signed 'Keith Vaughan' (lower right); titled twice and dated twice 'GREY SEATED FIGURE/1957' (on the backboard verso)
gouache
35.5 x 25.7 cm (14 x 10 in.)

Provenance
The artist, by whom gifted to
Peter Adam (1929-2019), thence by family descent

We are grateful to Gerard Hastings and Anthony Hepworth for their assistance in cataloguing this lot.

Keith Vaughan’s reputation as one of the most important painters of the 20^th century is beyond refute. He emerged as a hugely prominent figure in the post-war British art scene, during a time when abstract and conceptual art were gaining huge popularity. He helped found the Neo-Romanticism movement, which emphasized a return to more personal and emotional forms of expression. After this he would splinter from the group stylistically to offer his own distinctly different perspective with his increasingly abstract style.

Vaughan was born in Selsey, West Sussex in 1912, where he attended Christ’s Hospital School, and was often bullied. Vaughan would then work for Lintas advertising company, allowing him to understand elements of composition and form. After this, having begun to paint a few small works, he left to embark on a career as a professional artist in 1939; interrupted by the war, when would register as a conscientious objector. After the war he became great friends with the artists John Minton and Graham Sutherland, and lived with both for a time, helping form Neo-romanticism as a movement.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Vaughan's paintings often explored themes of loneliness, isolation, and the human condition. His style evolved over time, moving towards a more abstract and simplified form, with the influence of Cézanne, Braque and other European Modernists clear to see. The human form and it’s interaction with the landscape would become a focus for much of his work. His painting of humans, often appearing solemn and isolated with their lack of detailed facial features and expression, tell stories through their form and posture. Vaughan had a deep understanding and admiration of the human form, influenced by his love of ballet, and his accomplished photography. These are clearly visible in all his work but especially in his works on paper (lots 29-31 and lot 34), where one can see him experimenting with angles and the expression the body can create.

Keith Vaughan’s work is held in major international institutions to this day, including Tate, Victoria & Albert Museum, Museum of Modern Art, National Portrait Gallery, Government Art Collection and Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.