Patrick Procktor, R.A. 1936-2003
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“Procktor’s most enviable gift is, perhaps, the ability to tell the truth about small things - the fall of light, the angle of a head or hand. They give the best pictures the immediate quality of diary entries.’’ - Critic Peter Campbell, Patrick Procktor, The Listener, 18 May 1972
Patrick Procktor RA graduated from the Slade School of Art in London in 1962. Alongside his friend and contemporary, David Hockney, he was an integral part of the artists, designers and musicians who defined London’s cultural scene in the 1960s and 70s. In 1964, he was included in Bryan Robertson's groundbreaking Whitechapel gallery exhibition, The New Generation, which featured the work of twelve groundbreaking artists including Hockney, Patrick Caulfield, John Hoyland and Bridget Riley.
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Works
Patrick Procktor, R.A. 1936-2003
Victoria Falls, 1974Aquatint, artist proof, aside from the edition of 50Unframed: 14 x 22 cm.; 5½ x 8¾ in.
Framed H. 32 cm x W. 41 cm x D. 2.5 cmSigned in pencil lower right 'Patrick Procktor' and inscribed AP lower leftWB1841Copyright The Artist£ 795.00The present work belongs to Procktor's South African series of 6 prints. He travelled to the country in 1974, taking with him a set of small copper plates at the...The present work belongs to Procktor's South African series of 6 prints. He travelled to the country in 1974, taking with him a set of small copper plates at the behest of Editions Alecto. He set sail on the Liner SS Oranje with his wife Kirsten, and baby son Nicholas. They began by staying at a flat near the coast, and then travelled to Stellenbosch, Johannesburg with trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and back to Johannesburg.
Procktor recalls in his autobiography, 'it was the most vivid experience of natural beauty. The fine white spray rises to a height of five hundred feet, and spreads for miles; with it the lushest vegetation and wherever you turn, rainbows. I painted there and made etchings of the falls on returning.' (Patrick Procktor, Self-Portrait, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1991, p.167)
Another from the edition is held in the Tate Collection.
Exhibitions
London, The Redfern Gallery, Patrick Procktor: New Paintings, Watercolours and Etchings, 1 - 24 October 1974, no. 78;
Sheffield, Mappin Art Gallery, Watercolours, Drawings, Prints and Oils by Patrick Procktor, 9 - 31 August 1975, no. 18;
Wiltshire, Salisbury Playhouse, Patrick Procktor, 1979, no. 3;
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Patrick Procktor, Prints 1959 - 1985, 8 June - 21 July 1985, no.50, with tour to The Hob Warehouse (Guinness Museum), Dublin, The DLI Museum and Arts Centre, Durham, Southampton Art Gallery and The Redfern Gallery
Literature
Patrick Procktor, 'Self-Portrait', Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1991, p.167
Patrick Procktor, Prints 1959 - 1985, (exh. cat.), published by The Redfern Gallery and Editions Alecto Limited, 1985, p.90 (illustrated)
Ian Massey, 'Patrick Procktor: Art and Life', Unicorn Press, 2010, illustrated p.142
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