Introduction I Visiting Information and Events I Room Guide I Further Reading

School IV: Barracuda under Skipjack Tuna, 1978
Private Collection © June Andrews

In the late 1970s Andrews returned to the theme of group behaviour. Now, however, he became interested in the way people form into groups or communities and the reasons for this. Of these developments, he observed: 'I was thinking of social similarity and difference (conformity, uniformity, upbringing) and so on and the fish images came to mind.'

Andrews found a parallel for the behaviour of individuals in the behaviour of fish, shown in groups or schools. As these brilliantly-coloured paintings show, Andrews was fascinated by the fishes' markings - a kind of uniform - as well as by the way that fish of similar species form into communities. Of this connection between people and fish, Andrews remarked 'How alike we all are, and our propensity to stick together'.

Also included are a group of watercolours related to the School paintings: a number of studies of fish and a group of landscapes around Geldeston in Suffolk that reflect his engagement with the theme of water. These studies from life - depicting light effects, the landscape, the appearance of water, and boats - were not intended as preparation for the School paintings, but they expanded the context in which the larger works developed. They also show Andrews's extraordinarily inventive watercolour technique, and demonstrate his concern to find a medium and method appropriate to his subject.

In the related work Melanie and Me Swimming 1978-9 (no.59), the artist supports his daughter while she learns to swim during a holiday at Glenartney in Perthshire: an extraordinarily tender image of familial love and trust. While it was conceived as the first work in the series titled Holiday which followed (shown in the next room), its themes of water, swimming and the relation of individuals connects it with the School paintings.

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