Provenance
Gimpel Fils, London; Private collection
Note: John Milnes-Smith was a painter and collagist, notably of abstract work, born in Middlesex. From 1934-38 Milnes-Smith studied at the Architectural Association, specialising in historic buildings, qualifying in 1939. From 1940-44 war service took Milnes-Smith to the Far East. His early work was representational, soon moving towards abstraction, in 1951 being represented in 'British Abstract Art' at Gimpel Fils, the first of many group appearances in the 1950s. He became a member of the London Group, 1952; also took part in the 'Metavisual, Tachiste and Abstract' exhibition at the Redfern Gallery, London, 1957. In 1959 he had his first solo show at New Vision Centre and in 1963 he began showing with Drian Galleries. In 1988 he shared a show called 'Reflections of the Fifties' at England and Co. and in 1990 was given a retrospective at Austin Desmond Fine Art.