Peter Potworoski

The Ogilvie Collection Peter Potworowski (Polish, 1898-1962) Najac 1953 partially signed and dated '53 P Potwor...' (lower right); further signed and dated again 'P. Potworowski 1953' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas laid on board 32.3 x 45.5 cm. (12 3/4 x 17 7/8 in.) PROVENANCE: Corsham School of Art, Wiltshire, where purchased directly from the artist by the family of the present owner, 1954 EXHIBITED: Wiltshire, Corsham School of Art, Memorial Exhibition , 1962, no.3 Bath, Cleeve Hill, Bath Festival Exhibition, Loan Exhibition of Paintings from Private Collections , 8-16 June 1963, no.12 Arts Council, Corsham Painters and Sculptors , B324 New Art Centre, Exhibition no.125, November 1977 Najac is a quaint village in the South of France, near Toulouse, renowned for it's historic buildings and medieval character. Another version of Najac by Potworowski ( French Town , 1953) was acquired by the Victoria Art Gallery, Somerset, in 1999 with the assistance of the Art Fund. In both examples however, the artist has deliberately avoided the obviously picturesque and interprets a public space in his own style. His modernity and independence as an artist is evident in the preference for depicting the town's telephone cables and houses, rather than the Roman ruins.

Fish signed 'P.Potworoski' (lower right) oil on canvas 40.7 x 50.8 cm. (16 x 20 in.) Footnote: PROVENANCE: Private Collection, U.K. Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1898, Potworowski came to England in 1943, having travelled extensively around Europe for twenty years. From 1946 until his return to Poland in 1958, Potworoski spent long periods in Sancreed, Cornwall. The art produced during his long sejourn in the U.K is among his best and the association with the artists living and working in Cornwall was to be of significance not only to him but also to the artists whom he befriended. Peter Lanyon was amongst many colleagues teaching at the Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, who held him in high esteem. From Lanyon, Potworoski gleaned a sense of what was possible with landscape-based abstraction. Equally, as a direct result of his experience of the colour sensibilities pervading the studios in Paris where he studied in the 1920s, he inspired Lanyon with his rich colour to open up his mature palette. His move back to Poland in the late 1950s, before the reputations of his colleagues of St Ives were assured, may account for the neglect of this subtle and inspiring artist.

Peter Potworowski (Polish, 1898-1962) Sunset with black trees indistinctly signed (lower left), oil on canvas 40 x 60.5cm (15 3/4 x 2313/16in). Request Condition Report Footnote: EXHIBITED: The Arts Council of Great Britain, 'West Country Landscape',no:20

Peter Potworoski (Polish, 1898-1962) Figures in a landscape signed 'P.P' (lower right, obscured by frame); signed on label onstretcher, oil on canvas 32.5 x 45.5cm (12 13/16 x 1715/16in). Footnote: PROVENANCE: Acquired directly from the artist in the 1950s.

Ametla del Mar signed 'Potworowski' (lower right), further signed and inscribed'Ametla del Mar/Potworowski' (on the frame) oil on board 30.5 x 61 cm. (12 x 24 in.) Painted in 1954