Lot 626: Allen Tortice (British, born Wakefield 1948) 'Hills of Home'

'Hills of Home'
signed 'Tortice 1987' and inscribed with title (lower left); inscribed with 'The Hills of home were high and wide. Flanked by buildings on either side. Where good men lived and good men died', and dated 1987 label verso oil on board
59.5 x 70cm (23 7/16 x 27 9/16in).

Allen Tortice was born in East Ardsley, near Wakefield in 1948. He attended both Junior and Secondary Schools in Ardsley and was inspired to paint by his art Master, Mr Smith. He grew up in a large family of six children, his father worked in the mines and his mother was a mill worker. Tortice has developed his own style of painting based on a nostalgia for the industrial landscape and his own experiences growing up in the 1950s. He started painting seriously in 1985 after a variety of jobs including the mining and quarrying industries.