R35,000
Walter Battiss (South African 1906 - 1982) DRIFT, SOMERSET EAST
signed, dated 23.10.1981 and titled
watercolour on paper
33,5 by 47cm
PROVENANCE
Commissioned by the current owners from the artist
This work was commissioned by fellow inhabitants of Somerset East, which happened to be Walter Battiss’ home town. The painting has never come to market and was produced in 1981. The artist passed away in 1982.
Very typical of the watercolour landscapes that he was producing in the last few years of his life, where the subject matter was figurative, rendered in relaxed yet defined brushstrokes. Fantastical elements crept into these works in his colour palette. Purples, mauves, oranges and yellows find their way into roads, shrubbery and water; colours that are just too unlikely to be natural appear in his watercolour landscapes from this period, enhancing a surreal quality to the work.
Work such as Drift, Somerset East were produced after a lifetime of prolific art making and a mastering of skill. It is interesting that at this stage, Battiss selected to interfere with the landscape as little as possible: “The found space is a stage spectacle, a platform, a screen, a place describing exteriority and not a physically inhabited or emotionally revealing autobiography.”
S.D
Carman, J & Isaac, S. Walter Battiss: Gentle Anarchist, Johannesburg: Standard Bank Gallery, 2005
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