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Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995):
For Fun, early 1960's
Framed (ref: 7816)
Oil on canvas
36 x 30 in. (91 x 76cm).
See all works by Mary Adshead oil allegory design leisure TOP 100 women work WOMEN Mary Adshead (1904-1995) & Stephen Bone (1904-1958)
Provenance: Quentin Bone, thence by descent
For many decades For Fun, hung at the side of Mary Adshead studio. Humour was a very important aspect of her art. The composition however, dominated by a glamourous croupier, but with sinister figures either side, participating in a the seemingly less than glamourous activities of a Casino, belies a more serious subject.
Throughout her life she assimilated new styles, and this composition reflects obvious aspects of the then emerging Pop Art movement. It might even have been directly inspired by Hockney’s notorious “Life Painting for a Diploma” (1962).
David Hockney - Life Painting for a Diploma 1962, Yageo Foundation © Yageo Foundation
We are grateful to James Bone for assistance.