Lot 307: JOHN CRAXTON, R.A. (1922-2009) - Surreal Tree, Pembrokeshire

JOHN CRAXTON, R.A. (1922-2009)
Surreal Tree, Pembrokeshire
signed '-Craxton-' (lower left)
pencil and ink on paper
9√ x 8 in. (24.5 x 20 cm.)
Executed in 1943.


PROVENANCE:
Purchased directly from the artist by the
present owner.
This drawing is closely related to the vignettes
and ink illustrations Craxton made for Geofrey
Grigson’s anthology The Poet’s Eye (1944),
specifcally the drawings on pages 9 and 97 of
rocks and trees together, and the lithograph
between pages 26 and 27. This was just the kind
of meeting of word and image that Freer enjoyed,
and the pleasure he took in these Craxton
purchases is easily imagined.