Lot 14
ROBERT BATEMAN, R.C.A.
Additional Images
Provenance:
Private Collection, Ajax, ON
Note:
A rare and early Robert Bateman work, “Red Tailed Hawk” is a true example of Bateman’s experimental period of the 1960s, in which he closely studied abstract expressionism: “I was strongly influenced by the work of Franz Kline, and I was painting pictures that presented strong positive and negative spaces.” Kline’s influence is present in this painting with the hawk flying between the highly-contrasted foreground and sky. Bateman also paints the hawk from an interesting perspective, as if we are looking out from a tall window at the height of the tree trunk.
A dedicated naturalist, Bateman pays close attention to the essence of the animal he is painting, “for me, the first thing a painting of an animal must convey is the distinctive personality of the species … The expression of a red-tailed hawk has a combination of docility and fierceness and a certain serious dignity.” The realism of the hawk, met with this early-Bateman style makes this painting a rarity and true gem in the artist’s oeuvre.
Literature:
Ramsay Derry with an introduction by Roger Tory Peterson, The Art of Robert Bateman (Pomegranate: Petaluma, California, 2006), 102-104.
CONDITION DETAILS
Very good condition.
Please contact the specialist for further condition information.
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