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Euan Uglow: The Complete Paintings
British artist Euan Uglow (1932–2000) maintained a lower profile than others of his generation, yet his beautiful, intelligent, humane, and often witty landscapes, still lifes, and figure studies are today gaining the recognition they so clearly deserve. Many critics and admirers now consider Uglow one of Britain’s greatest post-war artists.
This is the first book devoted to Uglow and his oeuvre. Richard Kendall’s essay explores Uglow’s fundamental attitudes, beliefs, and processes in the years 1950 to 1970, and Catherine Lampert looks at the content and personal nature of the artist’s paintings over a lifetime, emphasizing his growing attention to color and light. The volume reproduces every known oil painting by Uglow—a total of more than 400 works--some 80 of which are here reproduced for the first time. In addition to a chronology, bibliography, and exhibition history for each work, the catalogue entries provide many other details and illuminating notes, including the artist’s own observations.
This is the first book devoted to Uglow and his oeuvre. Richard Kendall’s essay explores Uglow’s fundamental attitudes, beliefs, and processes in the years 1950 to 1970, and Catherine Lampert looks at the content and personal nature of the artist’s paintings over a lifetime, emphasizing his growing attention to color and light. The volume reproduces every known oil painting by Uglow—a total of more than 400 works--some 80 of which are here reproduced for the first time. In addition to a chronology, bibliography, and exhibition history for each work, the catalogue entries provide many other details and illuminating notes, including the artist’s own observations.
- GenresArt
244 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 10, 2010
An Extraordinary Monograph: The Complete Euan Uglow
Euan Uglow was somewhat of an hermetic character with his art. Not inclined toward exhibitions or even interviews during his lifetime, his brilliance as a painter is only now being widely acknowledged by a more international public. This splendid monograph offers intelligent essays by both Richard Kendall who delves into the pertinent period in the artist life - 1950 - 1970- while Catherine Lampert surveys the content of Uglow's paintings and his gradual involvement in his appreciation for color and light that made his later works even more refined than the earlier (and at times more fascinatingly introspective) paintings.
But the glory of this fine book from Yale University Press is the inclusion of ALL of the known paintings of this phenomenal artist - a feat rarely achieved in monographs of contemporary painters. Euan Uglow was equally at home with landscapes and his luminous still lifes as he was with the figure. But for this viewer it is his cascade of eloquent yet quietly simple nudes that remain in the mind's eye, acting as a reference point when viewing the work of today's figurative artists. The authors are wise to emphasize such masterworks as the early 'Standing Nude', a female model standing next to a geometrically interesting heater that Uglow somehow uses as a reference point for his observation of the chunks of the body; his pastoral 'Musicians' that incorporates his love of landscape painting with his appreciation of the figure; his 'Slade Nude against Green Screen'; 'Nude of an Italian Girl' described by the artists' friends as 'one of his grandest and most sensual nudes'; and his incomprehensibly beautiful 'Beautiful Girl Lying Down', a painting where all of his palette knife like brushstrokes give way to smooth molding of the skin producing one of the finest nude portraits in his career.
Yet his landscapes and still lifes have a special resonance peculiar to Euan Uglow's vision. Compositionally these works create questions in the viewer's eye while satisfying the celebration of color and form ('Peach with Blue Vase' is an excellent example). This well designed and conceived book includes sketches for his paintings and the little bits of evidential inspiration that help us to appreciate more fully just what a master was Euan Uglow. This is one of the finest monographs yet published about a 'contemporary' painter and it destined to become a collectors' item. Highly recommended.
Grady Harp
Euan Uglow was somewhat of an hermetic character with his art. Not inclined toward exhibitions or even interviews during his lifetime, his brilliance as a painter is only now being widely acknowledged by a more international public. This splendid monograph offers intelligent essays by both Richard Kendall who delves into the pertinent period in the artist life - 1950 - 1970- while Catherine Lampert surveys the content of Uglow's paintings and his gradual involvement in his appreciation for color and light that made his later works even more refined than the earlier (and at times more fascinatingly introspective) paintings.
But the glory of this fine book from Yale University Press is the inclusion of ALL of the known paintings of this phenomenal artist - a feat rarely achieved in monographs of contemporary painters. Euan Uglow was equally at home with landscapes and his luminous still lifes as he was with the figure. But for this viewer it is his cascade of eloquent yet quietly simple nudes that remain in the mind's eye, acting as a reference point when viewing the work of today's figurative artists. The authors are wise to emphasize such masterworks as the early 'Standing Nude', a female model standing next to a geometrically interesting heater that Uglow somehow uses as a reference point for his observation of the chunks of the body; his pastoral 'Musicians' that incorporates his love of landscape painting with his appreciation of the figure; his 'Slade Nude against Green Screen'; 'Nude of an Italian Girl' described by the artists' friends as 'one of his grandest and most sensual nudes'; and his incomprehensibly beautiful 'Beautiful Girl Lying Down', a painting where all of his palette knife like brushstrokes give way to smooth molding of the skin producing one of the finest nude portraits in his career.
Yet his landscapes and still lifes have a special resonance peculiar to Euan Uglow's vision. Compositionally these works create questions in the viewer's eye while satisfying the celebration of color and form ('Peach with Blue Vase' is an excellent example). This well designed and conceived book includes sketches for his paintings and the little bits of evidential inspiration that help us to appreciate more fully just what a master was Euan Uglow. This is one of the finest monographs yet published about a 'contemporary' painter and it destined to become a collectors' item. Highly recommended.
Grady Harp
July 8, 2011
WOW and WOW! This artist is amazing, only heard of him just recently and only by accident from Vogue magazine of all things, the cover picture photographer had taken his shots in the style of Uglow. This has been a real eye opener, a lot of what I had been taught at college had become clearer. I have been left feeling totally inspired, now if only I could paint!
July 8, 2015
An impressive monograph. I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on Uglow in the early 1980s when there was hardly anything written about him outside exhibition catalogues and reviews in the broadsheets (Richard Kendall was in fact my supervisor at the time) and I interviewed the artist at the Slade where he taught. Tough and pragmatic and rigorous in his execution. Great structure in his work... also a fine colourist which is sometimes overlooked.
Want to Read
November 26, 2011I would love to read this title but my library system does not own it and is unable to find any public lib'y that will allow us an inter-library loan. Unfortunately a new copy from Amazon is $125. According to Worldcat, the closest copy to me that is accessible to the public is at the Cleveland Pub Lib'y. :(
February 9, 2014
Read it, more like looked at the images. I love Uglow's work, and found having full color reproductions to reference, as I made my way through my first semester as a painting grad student, super helpful.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews