Girl in a White Scarf (1949)

John Leith Craxton

oil on canvas

The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate

Classification:

Painting

Materials:

Oil, Canvas

Physical Object Description:

Blue portrait of girl with headscarf painted in cubist style

Dimensions:

55.2 x 45.1 cm

Accession Number:

HARAG 259

Credit:

Presented by the Contemporary Art Society, 1952

Scheme:

Historic Purchase by Purchaser (1914-2008)

Ownership history:

Purchased from The London Gallery, London by Robin Ironside (1912-1965) for the Contemporary Art Society, 1949; presented to The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate, 1952

Relationship:

Robin Ironside The London Gallery, London The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate

Subject:

Portraits, Cubism

John Craxton, having had his first important solo exhibition in 1944 at the Leicester Galleries in London, was invited to go to Greece in 1946 by Peter Norton [Lady Norton] who had championed him at The London Gallery which she had established in 1936. He shared a house in Poros for a short time with his friend the painter Lucian Freud (1922–2011). Then in 1948 Craxton went to Crete where this cubist-style 'portrait' was probably executed and where he was to finally settle 12 years later. He said: “I felt at home at once. As my first contact with the Mediterranean and the discovery of the action of light, the way light and shadow behave, the arrival in Greece was astonishing. . . . This new world fitted me artistically, and suited me socially and financially.”

All rights reserved. Any further use will need to be cleared with the rights holder. Permission granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only. Commercial copying, hiring, lending is prohibited.

Read our copyright policy for more information.