Alan Reynolds, 
British 1926–2014 - 

January 1952, 1951-52; 

oil on board, signed and dated lower right 'Reynolds 51-52' and titled, dated and inscribed on the reverse, 29.5 x 39.6 cm (ARR) 

Provenance: 
with Redfern Gallery, London (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame); 
Miss Elizabeth Bryant, purchased from the above on the 20th February 1953; 
Robert Devereux; 
Sotheby's, London, The Robert Devereux Collection of Post-War British War, 4th November 2010, lot 241; 
private collection 

Note:
This early work by the artist is highly characteristic of British Modernist painting in the 1950s. The stylized and semi-abstracted landscape bears similarities to other important artists of the time including Keith Vaughan and Graham Sutherland. Additionally, the simplification of the landscape into horizontal bands with features projecting out vertically foreshadows his later constructivist and non-objective style. 

Between 1948 and 1952 Reynolds Studied at Woolwich Polytechnic School of Art, then at the Royal College of Art from 1952–3. Reynolds neo-romantic landscapes of Kent and Suffolk rapidly gained attention and while still at the RCA he had his first one-man show at Redfern Gallery in 1952 and several more in the following years. He also gained international profile with two solo shows at Durlachers Gallery in New York in 1954 and 1958. Reynolds both exhibited widely and maintained multiple teaching positions throughout his career, including as senior lecturer at Saint Martin’s school of art. His work is currently held within the collections of the Tate, MoMa and the V&A. 

This work was previously owned by Robert Devereux, an important collector of Contemporary and African Art. This work was previously sold as part of a major sale of his Post-War British art collection in aid of the African Arts Trust, which included pieces by Victor Pasmore, Lucien Freud and Patrick Heron.