Object Description
Douglas Swan (1930-2000)
Oil on canvas.
Orange Figure. Still Life and Purple Shadow 1957
Signed and titled on the reverse, dated June 1957.
This painting has an uncanny resemblance to works of William Scott from the same date, even the title reflects those used by Scott. Swan and Scott were very good friends, they met in 1954 when Swan was in London after being awarded a scholarship to study there. They remained friends and painted together in Somerset and Cornwall.
This work will be included in the Douglas Swan online catalogue raisonné.
Douglas Swan was born in Connecticut, USA in 1930 of Scottish parents, the family moved back to Scotland in 1936.
After National Service, Swan studied at Dundee Collage of Art between 1943-1953, he also studied at Trinity School of Music in London and was an accomplished pianist.
Swan began exhibiting at the Royal Scottish Academy and in 1954 he was awarded a scholarship to study in London.
In 1958 he was awarded the British Council Scholarship to study art in Italy. It was here he met Fontana and Castellani.
From early in his career his work was exhibited in many group shows at the RSA, Young Contemporaries, London Group, Gimpel Fils and Waddington Gallery.
In the late 1960’s, Swan moved to Switzerland with his wife and became an important abstract painter. He later moved to Bonn, where he stayed for the remainder of his career.
Swan exhibited widely in Italy, Germany and Switzerland in solo and group shows since his death in 2000.
His work can be seen at the website of the Douglas Swan Foundation.