Alan Davie b.1920
Phantom (Opus 69), 1951
oil on masonite
48 by 48 inches


Provenance
The Artist
Gimpel Fils, London

Exhibited
London, Gimpel Fils, Alan Davie: Major Works of the Fifties, 13 January - 14 February 1987, cat no.2, illus colour
Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Scottish Art Since 1900, 17 June - 14 August 1989, cat no.92

Literature
Alan Bowness, Alan Davie, Lund Humphries, 1967, cat no.4
Douglas Hall and Michael Tucker, Alan Davie, Lund Humphries, 1992, cat no.69



Davie has commented that he sees his activity as a painter as, ‘fundamentally the same as artists of remote times ... engaged in a shamanistic conjuring up of visions which will link us metaphorically with mysterious and spiritual forces normally beyond our apprehension’ (quoted in exhibition catalogue, Alan Davie Schilderijen Paintings, 1950-2000, Amstelveen, The Cobra Museum for Modern Art, 1989, p. 13).

Having studied at Edinburgh College of Art, Davie served in the army in World War II, before working for a period as a professional jazz musician. He also spent time writing poetry, designing textiles and pottery and working as a jeweller before he set out to embark on a trip through Europe in 1948. This culminated in a visit to Venice where he saw works by Pollock, Rothko and Motherwell in the Guggenheim collection and which rekindled his enthusiasm for painting.

Davie cites Zen Buddhism as an influence on his work and sees painting as a way of gaining spiritual enlightenment. He also writes about the experience of gliding in relation to his painting, reminiscent of the ill-fated Cornish artist, Peter Lanyon. Within the densely worked surface of Phantom the viewer’s eye must move restlessly, following the energetic strokes of Davie’s brush. The title itself suggests that if we look close enough some type of apparition will be revealed to us within this powerful paintwork.