Crag

1978

Mark Ainsworth
A climb up Sca Fell in the Lake Distract and a visit to Gordale Scar in Yorkshire inspired Mark Ainsworth's 'Crag'. Ainsworth is a keen climber and enjoyed the exhilaration of standing on a precipice. He had admired James Ward's painting 'Gordale Scar',1812-14, at the Tate, and likewise he worked on a large scale to express the monumentality of Gordale Scar. He was also interested at that time in Edmund Burke's book on the sublime (1756), and saw the journey up a mountain as a metaphor for facing the hidden fears we all face in life. During the late 1970s Ainsworth was living at Butlers Wharf in London docklands and its architecture and Dickensian atmosphere were also influential on his work. Ann Jones
  • Artwork Details: 265.2 x 248.6cm
  • Edition:
  • Material description: acrylic on canvas
  • Credit line: © the artist
  • Theme: Abstract
  • Medium: Painting
  • Accession number: AC 1966

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