Aubrey Williams, 
Guyanese/British 1926-1990 - 
Volcanic Ash, 1959; 
oil on canvas, signed, dated and...

Aubrey Williams, 
Guyanese/British 1926-1990 - 

Volcanic Ash, 1959; 

oil on canvas, signed, dated and titled on the reverse 'Aubrey Williams 59 Volcanic Ash', 51 x 61.3 cm (ARR) 

Provenance:
private collection and thence by descent 

Note:
this piece is typical of Williams's style of the 1950s, combining abstract impressionist tendencies with the forms and symbols of the pre-Colombian art of the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas. Williams was strongly influenced by American artists associated with Abstract Expressionist such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning, having seen major exhibitions of their works at the Tate Gallery in London in 1956 and 1959. After moving to the city in the 1950s, Williams became a major figure in the London art world, especially through his connection with the South African artist Denis Bowen, who founded the New Visions Gallery in London. Williams co-founded the Caribbean Artists Movement with other London-based Caribbean artists and intellectuals, such as Ronald Moody, Stuart Hall and Orlando Patterson. His artwork is currently in the collection of the Tate in London, the Arts Council, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and the Bristol Museum and Gallery, among others. His work was central to the 2022 exhibition, 'Post-war Modern: New Art in Britain 1945-1965' at the Barbican Centre, London and other recent internationally acclaimed shows including 'Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 50s – Now', 2021 at Tate Britain and 'The Gift of Art', 2018 at the Perez Art Museum, Miami.