Graham Sutherland OM,
Black Landscape
1939–40
© The estate of Graham Sutherland
Artwork details
Artist
Graham Sutherland OM 1903–1980
Title
Black Landscape
Date
1939–40
Medium
Oil paint and sand on canvas
Dimensions
Support: 810 x 1321 mm
frame: 1006 x 1506 x 76 mm
frame: 1006 x 1506 x 76 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Purchased 1980
Reference
T03085
Not on display
Display caption
This Welsh scene reflects the artist's anxiety at the threat of war; it was painted during the ‘phoney war’ between 1939 and 1940. Both the title and the ominous twilight effect suggest imminent violence. Later the artist would transform objects found in nature, such as tree roots and branches, into human-like presences. Here it is the stark rocky landscape that rises up as a dark, threatening presence.
Sutherland was influenced by the pastoral vision of William Blake and Samuel Palmer (shown in room 8). This painting echoes the breadth of vision Blake showed in times of war, transcending narrowly nationalistic concerns.
September 2004
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Artist
Graham Sutherland OM
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Date
1939–40
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Style or '-ism'
20th century 1900-1945
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Neo-Romanticism
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Subject
emotions, concepts and ideas
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emotions and human qualities
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anxiety
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universal concepts
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menace
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history
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military: World War II
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places
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UK counties
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Pembrokeshire
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UK countries and regions
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Wales
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UK natural features
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