Provenance
Gillian Jason Gallery, London; Private collection
Note: John Selby-Bigge was born in Oxford and entered the Slade School of Fine Art only briefly in 1914 due to his military service in the war. After the war, unable to return to his art studies for economical reasons, Bigge had to earn a living doing various menial jobs. Of this he stated, 'I cannot say that I regret not having had the opportunity of the usual art-school training. My ideas were left to develop freely without the influences of prejudices and mannerisms inherent in most schools' (see H.Read, Unit One The Modern Movement in English Architecture, Painting and Sculpture, London, p. 49). Influenced chiefly by surrealism, his inclusion in the Unit One group and the present work exemplify the fresh and avant-garde path he led as a modern artist.