Masterpiece Philipp Martin (1927-2014) British Irish Modernist Important Oil on Canvas Dated 1959 Superb Provenance

Phillip Martin was born in England to a family of Irish origin. A

visionary artist with a strikingly individualistic style, Martin's

work of the 1950s presages the 1960s and develops into an exuberant,

free expression of colour and symbols that goes beyond Art Informel,

and any other movement.

Represented by Gimpel fils in London and with solo shows and

retrospectives in Galleries as important as the Redfern Gallery in

London, Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York, Galerie Borgogna in Italy,

the Kunsthalle Bern and Basel, Galerie du Dragon in Paris, Philipp

Martin was one of the major artists of his generation. Influential

critics, curators and colectors such as Michel Tapié, Alain Jouffroy

and Jean Jacques Lebel praised his work.

Exhibiting with the likes of Jackson Pollock, Bryen and Riopelle, the

MOMA New York purchased a work by Martin as early as 1952.

Works of Phillip Martin have also been acquired by the Art Institute

Chicago, the Detroit Art Museum, the San Fransisco Museum of Art, the

Contemporary Art Society London, the Musee des Beaux Arts Liege,

Belgium, the Kunst Museum Basel, Switzerland, the Municipal Museum of

Modern Art Dublin, the Guggenheim Foundation Venice, the Centre

Pompidou, Paris, the National Gallery of Australia. Canberra, among

others.

Everything I read about the artist's life - that he had entered a poor

order as a lay brother, worked with the underprivileged, his interest

in calligraphy, Indian art, his sojourns abroad - leads me to believe

that that he was an open minded, kind, thoughtful man. This is

important, as it shines though in his art, and notably in the painting

presented here. An exuberant, happy work, it exudes positive energy.

It was only after I had written the above sentences that I came across

the following statement by Gugliemo Archille Cavellini, who had known

the artist well:

"All of Phillip Martin's art conserves the force of an uninterrupted

ode to life. His painting always seems to announce something that is

being born, a love for existence that he had inside himself even

before he became an artist (...)

An important oil on canvas measuring 95 x 102 cm, the artwork

presented here has impeccable provenance: it was acquired by its

previous owner in 1963 from the Galerie H. Le Genre in the St Germain

district of Paris where Phillip Martin had a solo show titled

"éclatement spirituel de l'image-symbole".

Our oil on canvas is of the "Shrine" series, signed lower right and

dated 31-5-59 lower left. It is titled, signed again, and situated

"Paris 1959" on the verso of the canvas.

Nous parlons français, und wir sprechen auch Deutsch! Paintings may be viewed in Norwich and in Paris, as well as in London and Cambridge by appointment. Please contact us if you would like further details and images of an artwork.