Ivon Hitchens

Description

Ivon Hitchens (1893-1979) is widely regarded as the outstanding English landscape painter of the 20th century. Immediately recognisable by its daring yet subtle use of colour and brushmark to evoke the spirit of place, his work is to be found in public and private collections throughout the world. Newly available in paperback, this is the definitive study of Hitchens' life and work. Peter Khoroche draws on the painter's published writings, correspondence and conversation to create a critical reappraisal of Hitchens' theory and practice.

Reviews

...an authoritative study of the artist's life, supported by excellent color photographs, a thorough exhibition list, and a biographical chronology...Recommended.' Choice'... it remains the most comprehensive account of his life and work and draws on much of the artist's own writings and unpublished correspondence.' ARLIS 2007'The visuality of Hitchens is very well presented in this revised publication, which allows the work to speak eloquently about the act of painting'. The Art Book 2008'[Peter Khoroche's] monograph has been written from the best motives and the most constructive point of view. He had the benefit of ten years of talking to and corresponding with the artist, watching him paint and seeing his places of work. Although he conveys his enthusiasm for the pictures, to a great extent he lets Hitchens speak for himself.' TLS

Author description

Peter Khoroche wrote the catalogue for an exhibition of Hitchens' paintings (Serpentine Gallery, London and tour 1989/90) and for an exhibition of Ben Nicholson's drawings and painted reliefs (Kettle's Yard, Cambridge and tour 2002/3). He is also the author of Ben Nicholson: Drawings and Painted Reliefs (Lund Humphries, 2002).

Table of contents

Contents: Preface; Note to New Edition; 1893-1919: Parents - Childhood - Schooldays - Travel - Royal Academy Schools; 1919-25: Hampstead studio - Church decorations - Downland - Theories of Dow & Bell - Seven and Five Society - Chantemesle - Ben & Winifred Nicholson; 1925-33: First one-man exhibition - Sussex & Shropshire - Moatlands - London Artists' Association; 1933-40: Hampstead in the 1930s - 'Objective Abstractions': the end of the 7&5 - Marriage - Suffolk; 1940s: Greenleaves - Painting theory - 'Painting is painting' - First retrospective - Isolation in the country - Howard Bliss - The Sheffield Incident; 1950s: Nudes - Large-scale works - Development in landscapes; 1960-65: Motifs - A painting day - Paint, brushes, canvas, palette - Uncertain health & weather - Recognition - Second Retrospective; 1965-79: Seachange - Greenleaves - Music & Painting - Consummation; Notes; Appendix; Chronology; Exhibitions; Public collections; Select bibliography; Index.