PETER HOWSON (SCOTTISH B.1958) §
WHAM BAMM MAAM 3!
£2,250
Auction: 16 March 2016 at 11:00 GMT
Description
Signed and dated '94, pastel on paper
Dimensions
78cm x 52cm (30.5in x 20.5in)
Footnote
Exhibited: Flowers East, London
Note: Widely renowned for his ability to effectively convey raw emotion, and his unique figurative style, Peter Howson's works are instantly recognisable. Howson studied at the Glasgow School of Art in the 1970s and quickly gained recognition throughout the art world with a series of commissions and exhibitions. In 1993, Howson was appointed by the Imperial War Museum to the position of British Official War Artist during the Bosnian Civil War. Howson himself has described this time in Bosnia as being 'wrought with difficulty', as he struggled to convey the horror of what he witnessed in his works and make them resonate with a British audience.
Included in this sale are Howson works from this Bosnian period previously exhibited by Flowers Gallery in London. 'Mascotte', 'Wham Baam Maam 3!', and 'Boar Hunt', were all completed in 1994 using pastel on paper. As is typical of Howson, the main focus within these works is upon the human subjects depicted, indeed, the only use of warm colour by the artist in these works is to highlight the subject's faces. Not only does this limited use of colour serve to contrast with the cool, blue toned paper and instantly draw the viewer's eyes to the human subjects, it serves to highlight a difference between the individuals' wretched surroundings, and the subjects themselves. Other subject matter included in these works serve to convey further the predominant feeling of wartime melancholy, particularly the inclusion of ammunitions, decapitated boar's heads, and skulls and crossed bones. Howson was widely praised for his work as Official War Artist, and all three of these works for sale are typical examples of his work from this formative and defining period of his career.