'Variation on the Form of an Anchor', Tristram Hillier | Tate

Artwork details

Artist

Tristram Hillier (1905‑1983)

Title

Variation on the Form of an Anchor

Date 1939

MediumOil paint on canvas

Dimensionssupport: 1502 x 1092 mm frame: 1608 x 1206 x 70 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Purchased 1984

Reference

T03865

On display at Tate Modern

Theme: Level 2: Poetry and Dream

Room: Surrealism and Beyond (Room 2)

Display caption

Like Nash and Wadsworth, Hillier was impressed by the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico, which he encountered while living in Paris in the 1920s. The Italian's plunging perspectives and unexpected juxtapositions evoked a mysterious world that led Hillier towards Surrealism. The scale of this anchor-structure is overwhelming, like a monument of unknown significance. It is one of several mysterious beach scenes with abandoned elements made in the 1930s.

December 2005

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