David Bomberg,

British 1890-1957 -

Woman in sunlight, Lilian, 1931;

oil on canvas, signed and dated upper right Bomberg 31, 76 x 63.5 cm (ARR)

Provenance: Mrs Lilian Bomberg (nee Holt); Sothebys, London, 19^th May 1982, lot 136; with Dvir Gallery, Tel Aviv; Christies, London, 26^th June 2015, lot 218; Boundary Gallery, London

Exhibited: Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry, David Bomberg 1890-1957, Paintings and Drawings, September 1960, no.40; Hope Hall, Liverpool, David Bomberg, 1961, no.27 ; Tate Gallery, London, David Bomberg 1890-1957, Paintings and Drawings, March-April 1967, no.65, pl.12 illus. in catalogue (this exhibition toured to Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, April-May; City Art Gallery, Manchester, May-June; City Art Gallery, Bristol, June-July; Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham, July-August); Fischer Fine Art, London, Bomberg: Paintings, Drawings, Watercolours and Lithographs, March-April 1973, no.13, illus. in catalogue; Whitechapel Gallery, London, David Bomberg: The Later Years, September-October 1979, no.7, illus. in catalogue; Israel Museum, Jerusalem, David Bomberg in Palestine 1923-1927, Autumn 1983, no.62 as Portrait of Lilian

Literature: W. Lipke, David Bomberg, London 1967, p.71, illus. pl.VI

Note: this is one of the most tender and soulful portraits Bomberg ever made of his wife, the artist Lilian Holt. During the 1930s Bomberg created a number of celebrated portraits of Lilian in his innovative mature style, that combined heavy brushstrokes with deep colour, the figure gradually emerging from the paint. These works would be hugely influential on a generation of artists including Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff and Lucien Freud. A related portrait Lilian, 1932 is in the Tate collection.