George Dannatt

(1915 - 2009)

'Hardy's Wessex in Abstract Form'

Picture courtesy Hattie Miles

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George Dannatt’s long career as a painter and sculptor ended with the artist’s death in 2009 at the age of 94.  He was a respected member of a group of artists impressed by the qualities of the English countryside and coastline, including Terry Frost, John Wells, Bryan Winter and Denis Mitchell, all of whom were alive to the unique visual appeal of the south and west of England.  The paintings in this exhibition – Dannatt’s first in Bournemouth – are a selection from the many that were inspired by the Wessex countryside and coast.  Working from his studio in Wiltshire and travelling frequently among the villages, hills and coastline of the region, Dannatt would take home pencil sketches of field systems, cliffs and beaches, with notes on colours to be used and shapes to be investigated.  His life-long interest in the geometry of nature, together with his virtuosity with colour, texture, tone and balance, are the hallmarks of his style.  Viewers will notice very precise geometry in some works, and a more relaxed and informal abstract manner in others.  Several paintings bear the names of Wessex places; and the visual world of Thomas Hardy’s novels can sometimes be glimpsed in the textures and carefully studied folds of the inhabited human world.  Dannatt’s life-long involvement in the landscape resulted in an important contribution to the Wessex landscape school – a distinctive and perhaps unique artistic formation that belongs to the established history of modern British art.

In recent years the importance of Dannatt’s paintings has been recognised in critical circles in London and in Europe, and the present exhibition at TheARThouse Gallery is supported by the Osborne Samuel Gallery, London, and the Trustees of the George Dannatt Trust, which exists to promote understanding and appreciation of the fine arts.  Early this year the Trust made an important bequest of works of art to Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.

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1.  Lyric Movement No.4 (Winter Solstice)     

      Oil on paper, 1991  (ref no. 1230)                                

2.  Composition Blue No.4                               

      Oil on card, 2001  (ref no. 1322/4)                              

3.  Whites in Balance                                       

     Pencil & Indian ink, 2007  (ref no. 1607)                          

4.  Abstracted Landscape ‘Red Wedge’           

      Oil on prepared card, 1994  (ref no. 1098)                    

5.  Blue Intrusion                                             

      Inks, & pencils on panel,1998 (ref no.1250/6)               

6.  White Headland                                          

      Oil on paper on board, 1997   (ref no. 1316)                 

7.  Small Landscape                                         

      Oil on board, 1997   (ref no. 1381)                               

8.  Half Circle & Square Drawing                           

     Pencil & titanium white on card, 2005  (ref no. 1543)     

9.  Turnworth Crossing                                             

      Oil on prepared card, 1996   (ref no. 1280)                   

10. Post and Blue Horizon                                        

      Oil on prepared card, 1993   (ref no. 1103)                    

11. Two Point Painting                                              

       Oil on hardboard with collage, 2005  (ref no. 1553)       

12. Cup & Ringstone                                                 

      Lithograph with double image 2/2,1990   (ref no. 1024/1) 

13. Composition in Pink & White on Black            

       Mixed media, 1993   (ref no. 1087)                                

14. Paintings, in Blues and Red – Hayle No.3          

      1992   (ref no. 1039)                                                   

15. ‘White Drift – Littoral                                         

       Oil on hardboard, 1996   (ref no. 1257)                        

16. Burning Cliff                                                         

      (Dorset Colour & Texture Study), 1984  (ref no. 0764)    

17. Painting – July 1990                                             

      Deep Yellow & Grey, 1990     (ref no. 0987)                   

18. Painting- White Discus                                         

      Oil on soft board, 1998   (ref no. 1354)                         

19. Deserted Landscape                                              

       Pencil on oil washes, 1998   (ref no. 1350)                   

20. Special Little Gouache                                          

      1973   (ref no. 0190)                                                      

21. Tideline,                                                                  

      1983   (ref no. 0692)                                                     

22. Ghosts of Summer,                                               

      1993   (ref no. 1072)                                                      

23. Two White Collage on Graphite                          

       Gouache on graphite & black, 2008    (ref no. 1653)         

24. Painting Estuary Beacon                                      

      Oil & pencil on wood panel, 1984                                    

25. Aerial Abstraction No.1                                       

      (Adumbration Series), 1986   (ref no. 0840/1)                   

26. Aerial Abstraction No. 2                                        

      (Adumbration Series), 1986   (ref no. 0840/2)                   

27. Drawing for an Etching                                        

      Pencil & graphite on cartridge paper, 1995  (ref no. 1189)   

 28. WALL No.2                                                             

       Drawing on waxed paper, 1984   (ref no. 0739/2)              

29. Open Blue                                                              

      Crayon & Gouache on paper, 1970   (ref no. 0199)            

30. Miniature Narrow Landscape                              

      Oil on board, 1998     (ref no. 1360                                  

31. Drawing – November Horizon                             

      Pigment & oil crayon on paper, 2000  (ref no. 1424)           

32. Offset Drawing: Flint with Obverse                    

      1985, (ref no. 0780/1)                                                     

33. Panel Painting (with Manganese Blue)                

       Oil on wooden panel  (ref no. 1315)                               

34. Chalklands Quarries No.1                                     

       Part Circle Painting (Series 1), 1987  (ref no. 0594/1)      

35. Chalklands Quarries No.3                                     

       Part Circle Painting (Series 1), 1987 (ref no. 0594/3)      

36. ‘Yarnwood’                                                             

       Oil on board, 1990 (ref no. 0965)                                  

37. Landscape Variation 2                                           

      Oil on board (ref no. 1437/2)                                          

38. A Landscape of the Inner Eye – 1                         

      Oil on plyboard, 1994 (ref no. 1119)                               

39. Field Tapestry                                                          

      Oil on board, 2003 (ref no. 1498)                                   

40. Ink Drawing – Triadic Study                                

      1980 (ref no. 0607)                                                         

41. Four Panel Block Relief                                         

      1985 (ref no. 0779)                                                     

42. Monoprint Oil, 1999                                               

      (ref no. 1369)                                                                 

43. ‘REVETMENT’                                                     

        Mixed media on paper (ref no. 1125)                             

44. Flints with Obverse No.2                                        

      Offset Drawing, 1985  (ref no. 0780/2)                             

45. Winter Landscape                                                  

       Mixed media on paper, 1993  (ref no. 1076)                 

46. Drawing on Oil Washes                                          

      2007  (ref no. 1604)                                                   

47. Chesil No.2                                                             

       Pencil & crayon on paper, 1994  (ref no. 1137)             

48. Portland – Derrick & Circle                                 

      Ink & graphite on paper, 1995  (ref no. 1055/4)            

49.  Marine Motif with Two Variations  No.1           

       1979    (ref no. 0505)                                                 

50. Marine Motif Variation 2                                     

      Pencil & crayon on paper  1979 (ref no. 0501/2)           

51. Pembroke Drawing No.3                                       

      1982  Unlimited Edition Print, 1997                                

52. Mirror Images                                                       

       Pencil & mixed media, 1974  (ref no. 0355)                    

53. Painting – August 1997                                         

       Oil on painting board, 1997  (ref no. 1318)                   

54. Dragon Hill                                                             

      Oil on hardboard, 1996  (ref no. 1278)                         

55. Graphites, Pencils & Acrylic                                

      1997, (ref no. 1290)                                                    

56. Vale of the White Horse Version 3                      

      Pencils & mixed media on paper  (ref no. 0770/3)          

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