Kathleen Guthrie (1905 - 1981):
Colours on white II, circa 1960
Framed (ref: 4768)
Inscribed with title on the reverse
Oil on canvas, 48 x 40 in. (122 x 101.5 x cm.)
See all works by Kathleen Guthrie oil 37 works from the studio of Kathleen Guthrie (1905-1981)
Provenance: Private Collection.
In the late 1960's/early 1970's Guthrie embarked on a series of bold abstract paintings
and silk screen prints which she referred to as her "Camelot" series.
Although the prints were usually preceded by oils or collage with
gouache the Camelot series evolved mostly around the possibilities
offered by silkscreen printing where layers of pure colour could be
laid over one and another without bleeding or distortion. Guthrie was
introduced to the technique of silk screen printing as early as 1954,
by Linnet Guthrie, the daughter of her first husband Robin - by the
early 1970's she had mastered the art and become one of the most
accomplished practioners of any generation. Her early prints, like her
paintings of the period, where semi abstract stylized decorative
conversation pieces, such as The Pram (1954) or Two under one hat
(1954). At the beginning of the 1960's, after her husband Cecil
Stephenson suffered a stroke and was no longer able to paint, Guthrie
launched into pure abstract painting. From the textured, soft edged
and muted palette of the 1960's she progressed towards a hard geometric
style which was increasingly inspired by her husband's work.