Posts tagged: Etching

Betty Connal
Peninsula (1970)
Etching and Aquatint

This work, simply signed ‘Connal’, was an early acquisition for the Collection. Our research suggests this is Betty Connal (1935-1999). Connal was born in the UK and studied at the Atelier 17 art school in Paris, under the renowned surrealist and abstract expressionist printmaker Stanley William Hayter. The studio was known for its collaborative and experimental atmosphere; this likely informed her printmaking practice which falls somewhere between landscape and abstraction.

Peninsula appears to capture a marshy outcrop of land, blending with grey sky and sea. Connal has eight works in the Government Art Collection in a similar visual style, which explore hills, clouds and trees.

The images above are close-up stills of Connal’s work.

Photographs on this page courtesy of Sam Parker, UoS Art Collection Team Assistant

Charles Bartlett (1921-2014) lived and worked in East Anglia, and drew inspiration from the natural landscapes of the coast. Often out in all weather with his sketchbook, he captured the qualities of light, the movement of the sea, and the stark beauty of the flat marshlands. He produced landscape and abstract works in paint and print, and Blue Foreshore focuses on the patterns and colours of waves lapping the shore.

Charles originally undertook a scholarship at the Royal College of Art, and went on to teach at various art colleges around London, as well as being employed at print studios. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 1961, and Fellow of the Royal Watercolour Society in 1970. His work is in public and private collections, including the V&A, London and Arts Council Collection.

The image above is an install shot from the exhibition.

Photographs on this page courtesy of Sam Parker, UoS Art Collection Team Assistant