JOHN ARMSTRONG, A.R.A. (1893-1973)
Danae
signed and dated John Armstrong 1963 (lower right)
oil on canvas
48.9 x 74.9 cm (19 1/4 x 29 1/2 in)

PROVENANCE:
Sale, Bonhams, London, 17 November 2015, lot 172

EXHIBITED:
London, Molton & Lords, 1963, catalogue unnumbered

LITERATURE:
A.Lambirth (ed.), John Armstrong; The Paintings, London, 2009, p. 226, no. 745


Born in Sussex, the third son of a clergyman, John Armstrong A.R.A. (1893-1973) was an artist with varied and often surrealist outputs. Initially embarking on studying Law at St. John’s College, Oxford, Armstrong later decided to switch to art, at which point he became a student at St John’s Wood Art School.

Armstrong’s oeuvre is predominantly categorised in terms of his early painting in tempera, and his subsequent later work in oil. Appling oils in separated touches with a square-headed Courbet brush, Armstrong developed a strong divisionist style of painting in his work. Dabs of colour bring a textural animation to the picture surface with patches of paint laid down equably on a darker surface. Adapted from his techniques in tempera painting, he was very methodical in his production of oil paintings.

Danae was created in 1963, months after Armstrong was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The work was also created for his last one-man show, held at the Molton and Lords Gallery in South Molton Street, London, in the same year. A writer in The Times (26 November 1963) was particularly impressed by the simplicity of his new paintings compared to the surrealist work in Armstrong’s early years. The article notes the ‘strangely impersonal style’ alongside its intriguing formality. The composition of Danae is long and low to increase the feeling of oppression. This Danae is an abused and desolate woman, visualised as a contemporary victim. She is shown in isolation, framed as if on stage. Presented in a closed space scene and provided no way out. This painting may well have been a personal statement about the physical restrictions to which he was himself increasingly subject.