Fossils (February)

Tristram Hillier (1905 - 1983)

Oil on canvas

1955

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: The Secret Intelligence Service, Vauxhall Cross, Albert Embankment

    The clarity and meticulous detail of Tristram Hillier's painting evokes a surreal, slightly mysterious air. Arranged in a triangular composition on a wooden table top, ammonites, coral and other types of fossils are shown placed on geological books and a wooden box. The composition is set against an undetermined black background with a strong light source illuminating the scene from the left. Light casts distinct shadows amid the curiously-shaped forms. Bathed in this unnatural, almost theatrical, light it is as if the objects are under close scientific scrutiny.

    'Fossils (February)' was commissioned by the Shell Advertising Art Collection in 1955 for publication in the 'Shell Book of Nature, Fossils, Insects and Reptiles'. After the Second World War the company commissioned work from some of the best known British artists of the twentieth century for its Shell county guides, calendars and school wall charts.

  • About the artist
    Tristram Hillier was born in Peking and educated at Christ’s College, Cambridge, before studying at the Slade School of Art and the Westminster School of Art in London. Throughout his life he travelled in Europe, living for periods in France and Italy. He was a member of the Unit One group of artists, along with Paul Nash and Edward Wadsworth, whose work had a great influence on him.
  • Explore
    Places
    Subjects
    paper (as Subject), book, still life, fossil, matchstick, table (as Subject)
    Materials & Techniques
    canvas, oil, oil painting
  • Details
    Artist
    Tristram Hillier (1905 - 1983)
    Title
    Fossils (February)
    Date
    1955
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    width: 45.60 cm, height: 35.60 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from Sotheby's, Olympia, 4 July 2002
    Inscription
    lr (on bookmark): TRISTRAM / HILLIER / PINXIT / AD. MCMLV.
    Provenance
    Commissioned by Shell; Shell Advertising Art Collection; sold by Shell and purchased by GAC at Sotheby's Olympia, "The Shell Collection of Modern British Paintings" Sale, 4 July 2002 (Lot 47)
    GAC number
    17715