William Gear RA, FRSA, RBSA (1915-1997)

Garden Screen
signed and dated 'Gear / 59' (lower right); further signed, titled and dated Oct 59 to the reverse
oil on canvas
174.5 x 58cm

William Gear’s work from the 1950s captures a moment of bold transition in British art—a period when abstraction was still regarded with suspicion by many, yet Gear embraced it, unapologetically. Having spent time in Paris after the war, working alongside artists like Fernand Léger and absorbing the ethos of Art Informel, Gear returned to Britain with a European sensibility that separated him from many of his peers.

Gear's paintings of the early ’50s are muscular, vivid, and assertively abstract. Jagged forms in ochre, black, crimson, and electric blue hang together like torn fragments, suggesting both tension and cohesion. These works resist easy interpretation, but their energy is unmistakable. Gear wasn’t interested in polite decoration; rather, his abstraction aimed for unrepentant impact, rooted in an emotional, and sometimes confrontational, language of form.

In 1951, Gear’s inclusion in the Festival of Britain exhibition 60 Paintings for ’51 caused controversy. His painting, Autumn Landscape, drew public criticism for its perceived 'incomprehensibility', yet the uproar only demonstrated how far ahead of the curve Gear was. While others tiptoed toward abstraction, he had already arrived, confident in his convictions.

Condition Report
Some very minor paint losses to the edges, otherwise in nice overall condition