Basil Ivan Rákóczi (1908-1979)
Bird
Oil on canvas laid on board, 36.5 x 45cm (14¼ x 17¾'')

Provenance: Artist's family by descent.

This painting represents one of two themes that the artist...

Basil Ivan Rákóczi (1908-1979)
Bird
Oil on canvas laid on board, 36.5 x 45cm (14¼ x 17¾'')

Provenance: Artist's family by descent.

This painting represents one of two themes that the artist regularly returned to, fish and, in this painting, a bird in flight. Both represent freedom. It was a juxtaposition against another regular theme about feeling trapped or hemmed, which often featured in some form in his work. This piece was painted on the island of Majorca where, from the mid 1960s, Basil would spend many months every spring and summer, painting and drawing. He had had a weak chest since childhood and the warm summers on the island helped compensate for that.

 

Our thanks to Christopher Rákóczi for his help in cataloguing this lot.

 

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