Terry Frost Archives - Vanessa Clewes Salmon

Sir Terry Frost RA (1915-2003)

Sir Terry Frost RA (1915-2003) was one of the most successful and acclaimed British artists of the twentieth century. His exuberant and life-affirming paintings pulsate with colour, light and simplicity. ‘Painting is all about courage. If it feels right in my heart, my head and my big toe, then I know I’ve got it right!’

Frost’s extraordinary talent for abstract painting began as a commando prisoner of war in Bavaria during World War II. He later studied under Victor Pasmore his tutor at Camberwell School of Art in London, where he was greatly influenced by major St Ives artists such as Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, Peter Lanyon and Roger Hilton.

From the mid 1950s Frost taught at various UK universities and within a few years had become established as a leading abstract painter, exhibiting regularly in London and throughout the world. In 1974 he moved permanently to Newlyn in Cornwall, where his love of the region proved a rich source of inspiration for much of his work, saying that he was in a constant ‘state of delight in front of nature.’ Frost was elected a Royal Academician in 1992 and received a knighthood in 1998.

The small Black Olives round the Sun comes from the artist’s estate.

Sir Terry Frost´s work can be seen in the collections of the British Museum, the Tate Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, as well as the National Gallery of Canada, the National Gallery of New South Wales in Australia and the European Commission Conference Centre, Brussels.

Terry Frost, Black Olives Round the Sun

signed by the artist

19 March, 2017