About this lot

Description

§ Carel Weight, RA (British, 1908-1997) Dark Day by the Canal oil on board 31.50 x 49cm (12 x 19in) Provenance: The Leicester Galleries, London,1949 (label verso) Other Notes: Of German-Swedish descent, Weight began his artistic career at his local Hammersmith School of Art, and later studied at Goldsmiths. He became an official war artist in 1945 and, on his return to London, was invited to teach at the Royal College of Art. As the son of two working parents, Weight spent large portions of his childhood in the care of his foster mother and godmother, who lived in the then working-class neighbourhood of Fulham. Weight was, as a result, acutely aware of the contrast between wealth and affluence. Known for both his landscapes and portraiture, Weight's work was influenced by Edvard Munch and Stanley Spencer and is characterised by a pervading mood of melancholia. He frequently portrayed unassuming urban landscapes drawn from his local South London neighbourhoods. A sense of drama is embodied in much of his work, even when the figures portrayed were solely going about their daily lives, as is the case in 'Dark Day by the Canal'.Oil on a wooden panel support. The panel is in plane and in a good condition. The paint layer is in a stable condition. There is a thin layer of varnish which has slightly yellowed but is even and semi-glossy. There is a layer of dust on the surface and some accretions at the lower right corners.

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