Description:
Philip Sutton (1928 - )
Magnificent! 2005
Oil on canvas
Purchased with support from The Art Fund, MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and the Friends of Leamington Art Gallery 2006
Magnificent! is a brilliantly coloured depiction of a tree which stands at the end of the artist’s garden in Manorbier, Pembrokeshire. Behind the tree, the sea can be seen sparkling through the foliage.
It is a scene Sutton has painted many times, scrutinising the view and observing the shifting light. He stresses that he is not attempting to capture how the tree 'looks', but what it 'feels' like. He does not attempt to portray a particular instant, but the larger vision of the tree over time. By focusing on a single natural form, Sutton is able to consider the larger questions of how man relates to his environment.
© Philip Sutton