Still Life in the Studio
1980
Tristram Hillier (English, 1905-1983)
Not on View

"Every artist paints himself” is a saying with deep roots in art history, and this still life takes on considerable meaning for the viewer who is familiar with Tristram Hillier’s biography. The artist, who attended Cambridge University and the Slade School of Fine Art, practiced a rigorous approach to drawing
throughout his career. During the 1920s, while living in Paris, he became friendly with Max Ernst and André Masson, who introduced him to the ideas of the surrealist movement in France. In 1933 Hillier joined the Unit One group of experimental painters. “Unit” referred to unity, and “One” to individuality; their goal was to modernize British artistic culture. This further associated Hillier with the approaches of English surrealism.

This tightly organized still life could be viewed as a self-portrait, raising the question of why the single painting in the composition is turned in reverse, and thereby removed from consideration. Perhaps it refers to the artist’s eccentric studio preparations, as he devoted three or more months to priming each canvas prior to initiating a painting in his meticulous technique. Hillier especially enjoyed fine wine, and much of his social life revolved around wine functions. The cigarettes, another indulgence, eventually ended his life, owing to lung cancer. Viewed as an ensemble, especially with the empty wine glass and bottle, Hillier’s still life contains strong intimations of mortality that are akin to traditional vanitas pictures, in which one is reminded that the riches of nature, and pleasure, are transient.

Details

  • Artist Name: Tristram Hillier (English, 1905-1983)
  • Title: Still Life in the Studio
  • Date: 1980
  • Medium: Oil on board
  • Dimensions: 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Museum Purchase
  • Accession Number: P.1980.4.2
  • Copyright: ©Tristram Hillier Estate / The Bridgeman Art Library

Object Information

[Lefevre Gallery, London, sold 1980 to];
Norton Simon Museum.

Recent Paintings by Tristram Hillier

  • London, Reid & Lefevre Gallery, 1980-09-28 to 1980-10-31

Significant Objects: The Spell of Still Life

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2012-07-20 to 2013-01-21
  • Brooke, Humphrey, Recent Paintings by Tristram Hillier, 1980, p. 8
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1666 pp. 432-433

Additional Artwork by Artist

Palomas Tristram Hillier 1976
The Blackmoor Vale from Pennard Tristram Hillier 1980

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