AN ENGLISH CUBIST

WILLIAM ROBERTS:

Sun-bathing

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Sun-bathing (aka Sun-bathers), 1931
Oil on canvas, 91.5 cm x 112 cm

PROVENANCE: Purchased from the artist by Ernest Cooper > David Hughes (by 1979) > Christie's (1 July 1993) > Jonathan Marland
EXHIBITION HISTORY: London Artists’ Association (3) 1931 (100 gns), Canada and USA 1935, Wakefield 1936 (£120), Hull 1936 ('looks upon a section of humanity with swollen, vulgar bodies trimmed with beer and gramophone records' – Hull Daily Mail, 1 July 1936), Pittsburgh 1936, Lefevre Gallery 1938 (120 gns), Royal Academy 1940 (as Sun-bathers: 'Whether you like it or not, this is painting of great integrity, and its subject-matter provides one of the most complete illustrations of contemporary working-class life that exists' – Herbert Read, The Listener, 11 Jan. 1940), Redfern Gallery 1942, Tate Gallery 1965, Worthing 1972, Parkin Gallery 1976, Commonwealth Institute 1977, Hayward Gallery 1979, Nottingham 2006, Chichester 2007, Chichester (2) 2016
REPRODUCED: The Graphic, 7 Nov. 1931