Lot 134: Robin Alexander Elliott (British, born 1936) The Hawk Hovers Above The Sparrow Barn

Robin Alexander Elliott (British, born 1936)
The Hawk Hovers Above The Sparrow Barn signed 'Elliott.' (lower right); further signed, titled and dated 'THE HAWK HOVERS ABOVE THE/SPARROW BARN./ROBIN.ALEXANDER.ELLIOTT./2019' (on canvas verso)oil on canvas76.5 x 102cm (30 1/8 x 40 3/16in).

Born in London in 1936, Elliott trained at Sidcup School of Art between 1951-6, studying under Frank Auerbach and Jack Smith, among others. After National Service at Catterick Camp in Yorkshire, he worked as a freelance illustrator, before having his first solo exhibition at the Hammond Lloyd Gallery, London. Nature and the British landscape serve as key sources of inspiration for his work, which has also been informed by travels in Europe and America, and five years spent living in the hills of Cerro e Alcaria, Portgual. In the present work, the spiky forms of leaves and trees can be read as following in the British neo-romantic tradition, with the rhythmic structure of the composition showing the influence of Alan Reynold's landscape paintings.