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Dimensions: 102 by 102cm., 40 by 40in.
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Provenance: Acquired directly from the Artist by the present owner
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Exhibited: London, Tate Gallery, William Scott: Paintings, Drawings and Gouaches 1938-71, 1972, no.124;
Milan, Falchi Arte Moderna, 1972.
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Notes: By the later 1960s and early 1970s, Scott had achieved a considerable international reputation as a painter, with works in major collections, both public and private, worldwide. In 1972, the Tate Gallery held a major retrospective of his career, presenting a wide range of works from 1938-1971. Four Forms, Blue on White was shown for the first time at this exhibition, in the section dedicated to the artist's most recent paintings.
Virtually all the critics who wrote about the 1972 Tate show commented on how consistent the artist had remained to his characteristic subject matter, the kitchen still-life, continually finding new ways to explore the possibilities offered by such apparently simple raw materials. The later paintings, such as Four Forms, Blue on White, are an object lesson in how skillfully Scott had achieved this. The cups, bowls and pans of the 1940s and 1950s have finally become purely forms, to be used and manipulated by the artist, placed without reference to any kind of setting, floating in a space that is entirely their own. The key element of the paintings of this period is the sense of balance and harmony with which Scott manages to infuse them. Four simple blue forms, each a little different from its fellows, drift to the outer edges of the painting. Their edges blur into the white ground, giving an impression of hidden light, as they move, never quite static.
The present work is listed with the William Scott Archive as no.215.
