Serendipity

John Bellany (1942 - 2013)

Etching

1987

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© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images.

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection
  • About the artist
    John Bellany was born at Port Seton on the East Coast of Scotland into a family of fishermen. Images of fishermen, boats and the sea have continually figured in his work. He studied at Edinburgh College of Art and then the Royal College of Art from 1965–68. The symbolism in the monumental Max Beckmann painting The Departure (1932–33), exhibited at the Tate in 1965, was revelatory to Bellany. After visiting East Germany in 1967, his work became darker and more complex, with images of concentration camps symbolising humanity’s irredeemable fall from grace. After suffering periods of ill-health in the 1980s, he produced a series of life-affirming portraits which were exhibited at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 1989.
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    Places
    Subjects
    trombone, genre, bird, swan, manta ray, heart, man, clock
    Materials & Techniques
    etching
  • Details
    Artist
    John Bellany (1942 - 2013)
    Title
    Serendipity
    Portfolio Title
    Artists' Choice
    Edition
    45/48
    Date
    1987
    Medium
    Etching
    Dimensions
    height: 31.00 cm, width: 30.40 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from the Royal College of Art, November 2007
    Inscription
    below image: 45/48 / Bellany -
    Provenance
    Royal College of Art
    GAC number
    18161/5