Coastal Fields

A soothing mid-century modernist landscape that distils the essence of a coastal countryside into a harmonious arrangement of simplified forms and tonal planes, executed in oil onto canvas and dated 1965.

Rolling fields stretch gently toward a distant shoreline, where muted hills dissolve into a tranquil horizon beneath a softly weathered sky. A cluster of whitewashed structures sits quietly within the terrain, offering a subtle human presence amid the expansive natural setting.

Executed in a restrained modernist style, the composition reflects the mid-century inclination toward abstraction while remaining grounded in the landscape tradition. The artist has reduced the scenery into layered, geometric passages, allowing the rhythm of land and sea to unfold through balanced shapes rather than literal detail. This approach creates a sense of calm structure and contemplative stillness, inviting the viewer to experience the landscape as both place and memory.

The colour palette is beautifully subdued and earthy, featuring sandy ochres, pale sage greens, chalky creams, and deep olive tones. These are complemented by a band of muted teal and blue along the horizon, suggesting distant water or sky.

The brushwork is textural yet controlled, with areas of dry brush and impasto that allow the weave of the canvas to emerge through the paint surface. Edges are softly broken and irregular, lending the composition an organic, tactile quality. This interplay between material texture and simplified form enhances the painting’s atmospheric presence, embodying the quiet elegance and thoughtful restraint characteristic of mid-century modernist landscape painting.

This oil on canvas is housed in a refined and well-suited frame with gilt mouldings and an inner linen window. Both the painting and frame are in excellent vintage condition.

Size: 30 x 57 cm (including frame)