In this bold woodblock print, Ian Armstrong plays with the language of modernism. He presents a mother and children in stylised, graphic form. The palette is rich – tangerine, royal blue and black – and the subject eternal. In works as simple as this, a command over composition and form proves critical.
A close friend and colleague of artists Fred Williams and Harry Rosengrave, Armstrong was a member of the influential George Bell School. His work crossed landscapes, portraiture and still life, united by an intuitive, modernist sensibility. There is a musicality to Armstrong’s vision, reflective of an artist who pursued his “own peculiar idea of the world, his own way of thinking and feeling.”
Armstrong’s work can be found across public institutions, including at the National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Australia and Art Gallery of New South Wales. For parents and collectors of prints, portraits and Australian modernism, this is a compelling discovery.
Ian ARMSTRONG (1923 - 2005)
'Untitled (Mother and Child)' 1976
woodblock on paper
Edition of 15
Image Size: 14 x 11 cm
Dimensions: 33 x 20 cm
Signed: Editioned, signed, and dated below image.
Comes with Letter of Provenance
Condition: Very Good: Describes a work of art's image as Excellent, but may show some small signs of surrounding wear to paper or frame. There are no tears to paper margin or disruption to the paint surface.
(c) The Artist or Assignee