Lot 9: William Scott, R.A. , Three Forms On Pale Blue 1971 Oil

signed and dated 71 on the reverse; signed titled and dated 1971 on a label attached to the stretcher oil on canvas

106 by 121cm.; 41¾ by 47¾in.

London, Tate Gallery, William Scott,: Paintings Drawings and Gouaches 1938-1971, 19 April - 29 May 1972, no.117, illustrated in the catalogue;
New York, Martha Jackson Gallery, John Hultberg and William Scott Paintings and Drawings, 29 September-27 October 1979.

Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, purchased from the artist in 1972
John Ems, New York, purchased 1973
Sale, Sotheby's, New York, 3rd May 1985, lot 184

WORKS FROM THE COLLECTION OF STANLEY J. SEEGER
This work is registered in the William Scott Archive as no. 208.
Sarah Whitfield is currently preparing the Catalogue Raisonné of works in oil by William Scott. The William Scott Foundation would like to hear from owners of any work by the artist so that these can be included in this comprehensive catalogue or in future projected catalogues. Please write to Sarah Whitfield c/o Sotheby's, 20th Century British Art Department, 34-35 New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA.

In contrast to the intense blue colour that characterised Scott's series of Berlin Blues in the mid 1960s (see lots 10 and 138), the 'pale blue' tones of the present work achieve a more serene effect. In tune with the pared down palette, the forms in the present work have been reduced to their most fundamental states and offer an apt comparison to the cluttered exuberence of large scale canvases of the previous decade such as Berlin Blues I (1965, Coll. Bank of Ireland Group). Above all, the prominent black shape of the long-handled frying pan resumes its place dominating the composition having been conspicuously absent from the artist's work from the mid 60s whilst he was living and working in Berlin. Indeed, the pan has become one of the most recognisable leitmotifs of Scott's dynamic style and clearly acknowledges the path his work has taken towards abstraction whilst still maintaining a link to the recurring theme of still life that has been a pre-occupation since the 1940s.