Victor Pasmore RA, CH, CBE (1908-1998)
"View of Clarges Street"
Initialled, oil on canvas, 59cm by 49cm

Provenance: Purchased by the vendor's grandfather circa late 1940s
Thence by descent

For a similar composition, see "View to the Thames" (circa 1945), Sotheby's London, 20 - 30 July 2020, Lot 631. A further comparison in subject can be made with “The Window” (1944), Cat. 71.

“Once having been involved with the late work of Turner and the French Impressionists, it was impossible to remain anchored for long to the old naturalistic tradition. I found myself moving on to the Post-Impressionists, but this time on a theoretical level. In the writings of Cézanne, I discovered ideas which seemed to revolutionise the traditional concept of visual representation. Instead of a mirror - reflection, painting has become a dialectical process in which the artist and model were either relative or synthetic”

A prominent and influential figure in 20th century British art, Victor Pasmore had a unique and fertile career, exploring many different lines of enquiry in his work. Pasmore was renowned for his evolution from lyrical figurative painting to pioneering both the practice and theory of abstraction.

Born in Surrey and educated at Harrow (1923-1927), it was here that Pasmore “first began to develop a sophisticated interest in painting”. He then moved to London in 1927, and for the coming decade was employed in Local Government service, while attending evening classes at the Central School of Art. He began involving himself with the London art scene throughout this time, showing with the London Group and was then elected to the London Artists' Association in 1932.

Pasmore studied all areas of art history from the Old Masters through to Post-Impressionist theories, developing his style and gaining recognition as a naturalistic painter. His early works were heavily influenced by the works of the French Impressionists, in addition to Turner and Whistler. "View of Clarges Street" particularly resonates with Claude Monet and Gustave Caillebotte’s elevated scenes of Haussmann’s Paris. It also exemplifies Pasmore's early aptitude and interest for oil painting. With a subtle exploration of perspective, use of a light and understated palette, the artist has injected a contemplative and enduring quality into an otherwise seemingly ordinary street in London. Though this painting is not part of Pasmore’s more renowned abstract period, we still get a sense of the forward-looking innovations that were to come in his decades-long career; With the use of block colour as a compositional tool, and the impressions of figures below. This early portion of Pasmore’s career laid the fundamentals on which the artist developed into abstraction, for which he has become synonymous.

During the Second World War, Pasmore married Wendy Lloyd Pasmore, née Blood (1915-2015) and together they moved from Ebury Street, to Chiswick, then to Hammersmith by the Thames. It was here he began painting his riverside pictures, increasingly looking towards the influence of Post-Impressionist theories. Along with his artistic practice, Pasmore served as Director of Painting at Camberwell School of Art (1943-1949) and a lecturer at the London Central School of Arts and Crafts (1949) during this time. Pasmore’s work slowly became increasingly enigmatic until he reached an impasse in the late 1940s, turning to abstraction. His work, of both figurative and abstract nature, can be found in numerous major collections internationally, and has been widely exhibited, notably representing Britain at the 1960 Venice Biennale.