‘The Fly’ Limited Edition Etching and Aquatint by Graham Sutherland. Framed under museum glass, signed and dated. Number 9 of 75.
‘Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d’Orphée’ was the last set of prints which Sutherland made before his death in February 1980. Sutherland began gouache studies in the summer of 1978 and made the plates for the prints, which are in colour, at his house in Menton from December 1978 to November 1979. They were exhibited, together with a selection of the gouache studies, at Marlborough Fine Art, London and 2RC Editrice, Milan between November and December 1979. Image printed in three colours: yellow, green and black. Artwork 74cm x 48cm. Framed 91cm x 66cm
Graham Vivian Sutherland OM was a prolific English artist born in London in 1903. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmaking, tapestry and glass design. He attended Epsom School and then studied art at Goldsmith’s School of Art (1921-26) where he quickly became a highly skilled etcher. As an official War Artist, Sutherland depicted bomb damage in London but it was not until after the war that he started to become really well known. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1960 and died in London in 1980.