In Part I of this blog, I briefly noted how and why the Old Jail Art Center came to have several works by mid-twentieth century British artists in the collection. The promise of Part II was to tell more about the artist Keith Vaughan and why I “like” his painting Standing Figure.
Keith Vaughan (1912-1977) emerged from the Neo-Romantic painters of the 1940s post-war Britain. This group, much like the Fort Worth Circle of artists, was not an organized movement nor did they follow any type of dogma. Most of these artists had a personal and poetical identification with nature and a shared interest in past Romantic British visionaries. By the 1950s Vaughan would develop his own style by concentrating on the figure integrated with or defined by abstract elements. The landscapes became undefined abstracted shapes creating a stage for the figures' activities. The pigment became thicker, creating rich tactile surfaces.
Standing Figure portrays a solitary nude male carrying a form draped over his shoulder. The grey form he carries appears to be a lamb or sheep. One could infer any number of biblical stories referencing a man carrying a sheep but there are no confirming clues contained in the image or title. Like many of Vaughan’s works, facial details are non-existent—allowing the figure in space and its actions to be the viewers’ primary focus.
The reason I gravitate to the work is that I enjoy the dark and limited color palette, the confident application of pigment, and the simplicity of forms and composition. More than anything, the painting provides an ambiguous narrative that creates a desire to return to the work over and over again.
Details about Keith Vaughan’s personal life could be Part III of the blog but I will leave it up to those interested in the artist to pursue information about this intriguing and sometimes-troubled individual.
Patrick Kelly, Executive Director and Curator
The artist in his studio, 1963, photograph by Jorge Lewinski © Jorge Lewinski