'May 1962 (Stays)', Sir Terry Frost

Artwork details

Artist

Sir Terry Frost (1915‑2003)

Title

May 1962 (Stays)

Date 1962

MediumOil paint and canvas on canvas

Dimensionssupport: 1829 x 1833 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Presented by the artist 1992

Reference

T06603

Not on display

Display caption

This is one of a series of laced works, some, as here, where the laces have been drawn by the artist, some using actual laces, threaded through the surface of the canvas. The theme was inspired by Frost seeing his wife sitting in a laced up bikini. He has said that this painting also refers to his grandmother's old fashioned stays or corsets that he frequently helped to lace up as a child. The artist has drawn in a spine above the laced section, indicating human anatomy. He has said of these laced works that the lacing was also a device to tighten the forms in the painting, 'I remember thinking I would like to use a spanner'.

September 2004