Alberto Morrocco
at the Fine Art Society
16 May – 7 June 2007
The Fine Art Society exclusively represents the estate of the distinguished and popular Scottish artist Alberto Morrocco who died in 1998. The show will run from 16 May – 7June at The Fine Art Society, 148 New Bond Street, London W1.
This exhibition includes many works never seen before including two major paintings; Sunbather and Watermelon, oil on canvas, 1973, demonstrating his typical colourful style, and Sicilian Fisherman, oil on board, circa 1960, which shows a darker tougher side to his vision.
Morrocco is widely known for his vivid evocations of Mediterranean everyday life but this is in stark contrast to his beginnings. He was born in Aberdeen in 1917 of Italian parents. Aptly for an Italian Scot, Morrocco's early style was informed by the Italian Renaissance, in particular the Quattrocento. He was an exacting and meticulous draughtsman throughout his college days at Gray's School of Art (Aberdeen), learnt from his tutors James Cowie and Robert Sivell. Their resolve to adhere to the manner of the Old Masters stayed with Morrocco all his life. Even in the later, intensely coloured paintings the roots of his training are still evident in the ordered composition of the pictures.
The early paintings are quietly observed views of his own family life. The palette is lowtoned and his sitters most often his wife Vera and his sons Laurie and Leon are absorbed in their everyday duties. During the 1950s he started to explore colour. He exploited the brilliant blue skies and beach life of the Mediterranean. His style became more schematic. He took beach boys, peasant women and melon sellers as his signature subjects.
Morrocco's work is in the permanent collections at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the City Art Centre, Edinburgh, as well as being in many other collections both public and private, notably The Fleming Collection, London. During his lifetime he was awarded the San Vito Prize in Rome, 1959, honorary degrees from Aberdeen and Dundee Universities in the 1980s, and in 1993 he was given an OBE.
All the works in the exhibition are for sale. Prices range from £10,000 to £150,000. |
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Sunbather and Watermelon, 1973
Oil on Canvas 88x x48",
Signed and dated
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