Earl and Rymer has dated this Mid Century Male Life Study to the 1940s.
This piece is characteristic of mid-20th-century British figurative painting.
Intriguingly, the reverse side reveals a second, earlier oil painting featuring figures bending over a table or surface—a classic example of a recycled canvas, offering a fascinating glimpse into the artist's studio process.
Patricia F. Arnett (1923–2022) was an English figurative and mural artist born in West Bromwich. She received her initial art education at The Memorial School of Art in West Bromwich before earning a place at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art in London. A talented student, she was awarded the Richardson Scholarship at the University of London and gained a reputation for her strong drawing technique and figurative design skills.
Exhibiting with the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) from 1943, Arnett was an active figure in the mid-century British art scene. Her early works from the 1940s—such as this 1943 life study—demonstrate academic rigor, anatomical clarity, and atmospheric restraint. Later in her career, she broadened her style toward vibrant expressionism and decorative abstractions, exhibiting extensively across the Midlands.
Earl and Rymer has dated this Mid Century Male Life Study to the 1940s.
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Mid-century Male Life Study by Patricia F. Arnett, Signed and Dated 1943.
