Graham Sutherland (1903–1980)
Brimham Rock, Yorkshire
£2,750
Auction: 29 April 2021 at 19:00 BST
Description
lithographic poster, 1937, condition A; not backed, framed
Dimensions
76cm x 114cm (30in x 45in)
Footnote
Literature:
Hewitt, The Shell Poster Book, 86.
This poster was part of an advertising campaign series entitled ‘To Visit Britain’s Landmarks, You Can be Sure of Shell’. The series comprised a selection of follies and sometimes unusual attractions, encouraging the public to explore the British countryside.
Graham Sutherland studied at Goldsmiths School of Art and then worked as a printmaker. He produced his first professional commission for Shell. Landscapes and natural forms provided the inspiration for much of his painting, firstly the bleak emptiness of West Wales and later the South of France. He was an official war artist painting scenes of bomb devastated buildings. One of his most famous works is the magnificent Christ in Glory tapestry in Coventry Cathedral. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1960.
Brimham Rocks, once known as Brimham Crags, is a 183.9-hectare (454-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Geological Conservation Review (GCR) site, north west of Harrogate, North Yorkshire on Brimham Moor in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site is known for its water and weather eroded rocks, which were formed over 325 million years ago and have assumed fantastic shapes.