218 - Frank Avray Wilson,

Frank Avray Wilson, British 1914-2009 - Purple, 1963; oil on board, signed and dated on the reverse 'Avray Wilson 63' and titled and dated on the reverse, 91.3 x 122.3 cm (unframed) (ARR) Provenance: the Family of the Artist Note: Frank Avray Wilson was possibly the first artist in Britain to create works in a Abstract Expressionist or Tachiste manner, his canvases characterised by pure colour and an 'allover' approach. This early work, most likely from the 1950s, is built up of a dazzling array of brushstrokes, built around a central form, that evokes the creation of a star or an explosive. In 1956 Frank Avray Wilson founded the New Vision Centre Gallery in London, alongside fellow artists Denis Bowen and Halima Nalecz. The gallery ran from 1956-66 exhibiting artists that would go on to international recognition, such as Aubrey Williams, Heinz Mack and Enrico Castellani and was one of the first spaces in Britain to display works by artists from the British Commonwealth and of non-Western origins. The New Visions Gallery Archive is now held by The Tate. The artist would go on to have five solo exhibitions at the Redfern Gallery and his works are in a number of major public collections in the UK, including Manchester Art Gallery, The Hepworth Wakefield and The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.